VOOZH about

URL: https://understandingwar.org/analysis/contemporary-future-war/

⇱ Contemporary & Future War Coverage | ISW

Skip to contentSkip to Content

Jump to

Home | Analysis | Contemporary & Future War
👁 ISW_MLFW_full color_light

Contemporary & Future War

ISW’s Contemporary & Future War project draws upon ISW’s regional military experts and military historians to explore the ways in which American adversaries, including Russia and China, are learning from ongoing military engagements. How are they adapting their force structures, doctrine, warfighting concepts, institutions and defense industrial bases to harness new technologies and capabilities? How are US adversaries learning from one another and from regional conflicts? How are they deriving lessons learned from one theater, such as Russia, and applying them to another, such as the Pacific? How should the United States and its allies adapt to prepare for future conflict?

Test Label

Jump To

OVERVIEW

The toughest problems in warfare often drive military experimentation, adaptation, and technological innovation. Ukraine is the defining battlefield shaping the future of warfare, a proving ground where the character of war is changing in real time. From drone swarms and electronic warfare to dispersed command structures and hybrid operations, the dynamics unfolding in Ukraine are rewriting the rules of modern conflict.

“The war in Ukraine is transforming the character of war in ways that will affect all future wars. The United States and its allies and partners must understand and internalize the lessons of this war and rapidly adapt themselves in order to address the fundamental problems of contemporary warfare that the war in Ukraine is exposing. These fundamental problems are not confined to the combatants in this conflict, to the specific theater in which they are fighting, or to their particular capabilities and limitations. The more advanced technologies and systems that the United States, NATO, and China, among others, can field neither automatically resolve these problems nor render them obsolete. The path to successful military adaptation runs through Ukraine,” as ISW President Kimberly Kagan and her coauthors wrote in their landmark publication Ukraine and the Problem of Restoring Maneuver in Contemporary War.

Other Key Product Lines From the Contemporary & Future War Team

Russian Force Generation & Adaptation Update
Contemporary & Future War

Research

Search
Date
Publication Type
Media & Events Type
Map Series TYPE
Teams
FOCUS AREA
Product Line

Long Form Report

Oct 27, 2025

Long Form Report

Aug 12, 2024

Long Form Report

Sep 14, 2023

Video Briefings

Jun 30, 2023

CONTEMPORARY & FUTURE WAR

UKRAINE

Russian Force Generation

Contemporary & Future War

Static Maps

VIEW ALL

Static Map

February 23, 2026

Static Map

February 23, 2026

Static Map

February 23, 2026

Contemporary & Future WarRussia & Ukraine

Ukraine

Russian Strikes Against Bridges in Odesa Oblast in December 2025

Static Map

February 23, 2026

Support ISW

ISW is powered by the support of individuals like you. Help us stay independent and impactful.

DONATE