Text: 2026 National Defense Strategy [Unclassified]

The Unclassified 2026 National Defense Strategy outlines the current administration’s assessment of the global security environment and its priorities for U.S. military posture and defense policy. The document situates American defense planning within a period it characterizes as marked by increased geopolitical competition, regional conflicts, and challenges to U.S. influence across multiple theaters, including Europe, the Middle East, and the Indo-Pacific.

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Rather than presenting defense policy as a continuation of post–Cold War assumptions, the strategy argues that earlier political and institutional decisions weakened long-standing advantages in military readiness, alliance cohesion, and strategic deterrence. It frames recent actions as a response to those conditions, emphasizing a return to warfighting capability, alliance expectations, and territorial security as guiding principles.

What follows is the administration’s own articulation of how it understands current threats, past decisions, and the role of American military power moving forward. The document is presented here in full for readers to examine its claims, assumptions, and implications directly.