David Knoll, Ph.D.

David Knoll is an expert in force design, irregular warfare, and military innovation. As director of the Countering Threats and Challenges Program, he oversees work on security cooperation, force design, and adversary tactics and operations—including CNA’s Russia Studies Program. David began his analytic career studying military tactics and innovation, and he has continued to use those topics as lenses to understand the future of war.

From 2022 to 2024, Knoll was the director of analysis in the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Policy. His team led the development of Defense Planning Scenarios, the primary analytical guidance for force planning in the Department of Defense. He was also on the 2022 National Defense Strategy core writing team. From 2022 to 2023, Knoll concurrently served as director of the OSD Policy, Joint Staff, and Office of Net Assessment-chaired study of the Russia-Ukraine war to derive lessons for the Joint Force on the future character of war.

Knoll has twice been awarded the Office of the Secretary of Defense Medal for Exceptional Public Service. He has a PhD and a Master of Arts in international relations from Tufts University, as well as a Bachelor of Arts in foreign affairs and religious studies from the University of Virginia.