Harness Silicon Valley to Spur Military Innovation
The Department of Defense, other U.S. government agencies and a bipartisan consensus in Congress realize that China is strategically leveraging diplomacy, information and intelligence, its military might and economic strength, and all other instruments of its national power to redefine the future world order.
Given China’s stated goals and objectives, we should expect continuity in this assessment in the coming decades.
Many have written about reform of existing DoD systems (fix the planning, programming, budgeting and execution (PPBE) process; scale DoD accelerators and the Defense Innovation Unit - better utilizing existing acquisition authorities, etc.).
All are fine ideas, but they miss a core problem – the DoD has not engaged with commercial industry at scale. Harnessing the extraordinary potential of the U.S. private sector and bringing its vastly superior resources to bear more effectively is the key to prevailing in this strategic competition.