Students in this course must submit a research paper on a defense technology and doctrine topic selected in consultation with the instructor. Papers are at least 30 pages in length, require citations, and will preferably use either single or comparative case studies.

Sample topics include: a comparison of alternative methods for organizing military space activity; a comparison of both the doctrine and technology of cruise missile development in the U.S. and the USSR during the Cold War; an analysis of the U.S. Air Force versus the Military Reform Movement debate over the future of air combat after Vietnam.