Trump’s Military Strategy: A New Era?

When President Donald Trump took office again in January 2025, the Biden Administration had left a legacy of underfunding. There were prolonged deployments and inconsistent appropriations. Additionally, there was poor discipline in defense program execution.

These factors degraded U.S. military readiness. They also narrowed the margin for error in an increasingly dangerous global environment.

The fact is, despite renewed attention by Trump to improve our military, the United States faces a serious risk of being unable to deter—or, if necessary, defeat—China in a protracted conflict.

China, Russia and the rest of the world have witnessed what the U.S. was capable of in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm (1990–1991):

• The buildup of U.S.-led coalition forces in Saudi Arabia.

• This enabled the second, a two-pronged offensive into Kuwait. The offensive aimed to drive out Iraqi forces. These forces were sent there by Saddam Hussein to claim the country as a province of Iraq.

Most recently, the world has seen incredible performances by the U.S. military in Operations Absolute Resolve, Midnight Hammer and Epic Fury showing that U.S. capability is still unmatched.

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth recently indicated that the extensive damage the U.S. and Israeli militaries have been inflicting upon the Iranian terrorist regime’s active combat forces is extensive. Their defense industrial base is nearing complete destruction.

“Soon and very soon, all of Iran’s defense companies will be destroyed,” Hegseth said.

However, quantity has a quality all its own. The dramatic expansion of Chinese military capacity in shipbuilding and munitions production is concerning for the United States. This is especially true given that the U.S. military is not currently postured to prioritize deterring Chinese aggression.

Russia’s war against Ukraine has been particularly instructive. Russia’s extremely poor performance has surprised most analysts and observers.

The sheer size of its inventory of vehicles, aircraft, people, and munitions is vast. This has enabled it to sustain its assault on Ukraine. It started in late February 2022 and persisted in spite of strategic and operational incompetence.

Western support has enabled Ukraine not to lose. It has also allowed Ukraine to impose substantial losses on Russia. However, Russia has leveraged its vast quantities of materiel to remain in the fight. They have even pulled 1950s vintage tanks from storage.

One can scoff at such relics being committed to modern combat. However, a T-54 tank on the battlefield is still better than a modern British Challenger II sitting in a vehicle lot in England.

2026 Military Strength

The 2026 Index of U.S. Military Strength by the Heritage Foundation analyzed the condition of the United States military. It considered America’s most vital national security interests.

The Index examined the threats to these interests and the context within which the U.S. might have to use military force to protect them.

The Index:

• uses a standardized, consistent set of criteria.

• is accessible to policymakers and the American public.

• gauges the capacity, capability, and readiness of the U.S. military.

• evaluates the global operating environment.

• analyzes the capabilities and intent of America’s major adversaries.

Using the two-war force as its benchmark, the 2026 Index measures whether the U.S. military is able to deter and, if necessary, succeed in two major conflicts simultaneously.

The Index provides a single-source reference on force capacity, modern equipment, readiness, and regional challenges. This equips policymakers and citizens with a clear understanding. It helps assess whether America’s military is up to the task of defending our national interests.