Absent renewed investment in and a strategic realignment of its own capabilities, the U.S. military could lose the next state-versus-state war it fights, according to a new report issued by the National Defense Strategy Commission.

America’s ability to defend its allies, its partners and its own vital interests is increasingly in doubt, the report’s authors wrote. "It might struggle to win, or perhaps lose, a war against China or Russia."

The non-partisan panel of 12 former national security officials and experts was tasked one year ago with evaluating the nation’s defenses and reviewing the National Defense Strategy, a comprehensive planning document that lays out military objectives and was issued by the Defense Department in January 2018. The panel’s conclusions were based on interviews with current and former military and diplomatic officials, policy experts, and a review of both classified and unclassified material.

Its warnings echo those of analogous, precursor reports issued in 2010 and 2014 but are among the starkest yet: America’s military edge is, in many areas, diminished, and in some cases erased – just as other rivals are getting savvier, stronger and more aggressive.

Russia and China are challenging the United States, its allies and its partners on a far greater scale than has any adversary since the Cold War’s end, the authors wrote, noting Moscow and Beijing are implementing a mix of economic, diplomatic, political and informational tools to achieve their respective objectives.

If the United States had to fight Russia in a Baltic contingency or China in a war over Taiwan, the report warned, "Americans could face a decisive military defeat."