The U.S. faces adversaries who are actively collaborating, rendering a siloed response insufficient. Victory requires an integrated effort combining the government, the traditional defense industrial base, and agile innovators, creating unique partnerships to move faster than the competition.
The greatest risk to integrating AI in military systems isn't the technology itself, but the potential for one high-profile failure—a safety event or cyber breach—to trigger a massive regulatory overcorrection, pushing the entire field backward and ceding the advantage to adversaries.
The Ukrainian conflict demonstrates the power of a fast, iterative cycle: deploy technology, see if it works, and adapt quickly. This agile approach, common in startups but alien to traditional defense, is essential for the U.S. to maintain its technological edge and avoid being outpaced.
The defense procurement system was built when technology platforms lasted for decades, prioritizing getting it perfect over getting it fast. This risk-averse model is now a liability in an era of rapid innovation, as it stifles the experimentation and failure necessary for speed.
Decades of adding regulations without subtracting have made the current defense procurement framework unsalvageable through minor adjustments. To achieve necessary speed and efficiency, policymakers must abandon the current system and start fresh, focusing on outcome-based contracts rather than process compliance.
The rise of drones is more than an incremental improvement; it's a paradigm shift. Warfare is moving from human-manned systems where lives are always at risk to autonomous ones where mission success hinges on technological reliability. This changes cost-benefit analyses and reduces direct human exposure in conflict.
Supply chain vulnerability isn't just about individual parts. The real test is whether a complex defense system, like a directed energy weapon, can be manufactured *entirely* from components sourced within the U.S. or from unshakeable allies. Currently, this is not possible, representing a critical security gap.