The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) have released a report on the creation of a separate military branch in the U.S. — the Cyber Force.

Experts estimate that the initial budget for this agency will range from $10 billion to $11 billion.

The report's authors, including former military officials, believe that the new structure will achieve initial operational readiness within 12 to 18 months.

This initiative gained traction thanks to an amendment by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand to the defense budget for the fiscal year 2027.

According to the report, the project will not require a significant allocation of new funds. Approximately $7.7 billion is already allocated in the Pentagon's budget for cyber operations, with an additional $2.8 billion for maintaining specialized personnel.

The goal of the Cyber Force is to consolidate these resources, which are currently spread across Cyber Command (CYBERCOM) and other branches of the armed forces.

The proposed size of the force will be 33,000 personnel, including 20,000 active-duty military and up to 6,000 civilian specialists. The commission suggested a specific staffing model: the force will consist solely of officers and warrant officers. Experts believe that the absence of enlisted personnel is optimal for a high-tech unit.

The report outlines two integration scenarios:

  • Incorporating the Cyber Force into the Department of the Army (similar to the Space Force within the Air Force);
  • Establishing an independent Department of Cyber Forces.

The main argument for the reform is the current fragmentation in the training of specialists. At present, Cyber Command is forced to combine combat management with administrative functions. The Cyber Force will take on the tasks of training and equipping troops, while the protection of local information networks will remain under the purview of existing units.

FDD Senior Fellow Mark Montgomery emphasized that the creation of the Cyber Force is inevitable and urged for the service model to be approved before a major crisis occurs.

It is worth noting that in May, the Pentagon signed agreements with Nvidia, Microsoft, Reflection, and Amazon Web Services to utilize advanced AI tools in classified military environments.