Acquisition
Image generated by DALL-E 3, symbolizing advanced artificial intelligence. Credit Alenoach via Wikimedia Commons
Meet the startups trying to build military-specific AI
Patrick Tucker, Defense One
A handful of veteran-run or -financed startups are moving to fill the gap between commercial AI products and the military's operational needs. These organizations aim to provide "sovereign" AI tools that can operate in disconnected environments and enable the military to exert more control over models, data, and infrastructure.
- Tactical Edge: New defense-focused firms are prioritizing "sovereignty" by creating models that run on local infrastructure at the tactical edge, ensuring they remain functional even when disconnected from centralized data centers.
- Domain Expertise: Startups such as Smack Technologies are building AI trained on combat-relevant datasets rather than general internet data, enabling the software to perform complex geospatial reasoning grounded in physics.
- Counter-Factual Thinking: To improve decision-making, some firms are developing AI frameworks that use counter-factual thinking to present alternative viewpoints and challenge a commander’s initial assumptions.
Related: JUST IN: Bigger Not Always Better When it Comes to AI, New Research Finds
Related: Harnessing AI for the future: Army unveils Project ARIA
Stop Funding Duct Tape
Pete Modigliani and Matt MacGregor, Defense Tech & Acquisition
The Pentagon has a prioritization problem, wherein the massive cost of sustaining obsolete legacy systems stifles the integration and funding of modern autonomous technologies. To maintain a competitive edge, the Department must focus on retiring this "acquisition debt," treating decommissioning as a strategic priority rather than a bureaucratic afterthought.
- The Duct-Tape Tax: Decades-old systems and "duct-taped" workarounds consume a disproportionate share of defense budgets. For example, the military will spend more modernizing 1970s-era F-15s than on promising autonomous programs
- Hidden Personnel Costs: Obsolete technology often hides within Operations & Maintenance lines, forcing teams to "babysit" unsupported software and perform manual workarounds instead of feeding actual decisions.
- Cattle Drive: Navy CTO Justin Fanelli and PEO Digital have implemented an "Investment Horizons" framework that offers a model for identifying and retiring obsolete services. Called "the Cattle Drive," this effort uses savings from divestment to help fund new technologies.
Innovation
Naval Information Warfare Center (NIWC) Atlantic’s Expeditionary Warfare (ExW) Department personnel work on integrating Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS) software, components and weapons onto Joint Light Tactical Vehicles (JLTVs) at the command’s Vehicle Integration Facility on Jan. 13, 2026. (U.S. Navy photo by Joe Bullinger/Released)
From MRAP to MADIS: Legacy of Innovation Endures at NIWC Atlantic
Steve Ghiringhelli, NIWC Atlantic Public Affairs
NIWC Atlantic continues to drive naval modernization by applying the rapid-response lessons of the MRAP era to integrate cutting-edge technologies like the MADIS drone-defense system onto versatile warfighting platforms.
- Wartime Speed: Invoking the "speed of MRAP," NIWC Atlantic bypasses traditional bureaucratic delays to rapidly prototype and field critical capabilities, mirroring the urgency of the 2008 mine-resistant ambush protected vehicle deployments.
- Modular Open Systems: By utilizing a Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA) and procuring technical data packages, the command ensures interoperability and avoids vendor lock-in when integrating commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) solutions
- Agile Lab Environments: On-site Systems Integration Labs (SILs) and specialized ranges like Poseidon Park allow for rapid, iterative testing and modeling, enabling new products to be configured and "get out the door" faster.
Defense & Strategy
Russian honor guards march in formation during the opening ceremony of the 65th anniversary of the Victory in Europe Day parade, St. Petersburg, Russia, May 10, 2010.
Putin has spent $2.5 Trillion on the war - what did he get from that investment?
David R. Henderson and Ryan Sullivan, Defense News
This article by NPS professors assesses the economic fallout of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, calculating that the conflict has cost the Russian Federation approximately $2.5 trillion in total losses over four years - a sum exceeding Russia's total GDP. This staggering total reflects the combined impact of massive human casualties, destroyed military hardware, direct operational spending, and long-term economic damage.
Washington Built the AI Infrastructure AUKUS Needs — Then Locked Allies Out
Madeline Field, War on the Rocks
The United States has excludes AUKUS allies from Genesis, a new supercomputing and AI infrastructure initiative managed by the Department of Energy. Although the AUKUS partnership aims to foster trilateral innovation in advanced fields like quantum computing and autonomous systems, the author argues that American policy currently prioritizes domestic technological leadership over shared access. This exclusion forces partners into redundant development efforts, threatening to undermine the collective defense edge needed to compete with China’s rapid technological gains.
Government Reports
Airmen relay information via headset during an engine run-up and preflight checks on a C-130J Super Hercules aircraft before a sortie on Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, Feb. 22, 2016. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Robert Cloys
Military Readiness: DOD Should Take Further Actions to Address Challenges Across the Air, Sea, Ground, and Space Domains
Government Accountability Office
Defense Contractor Cybersecurity: DOD Should Address External Factors That Could Impede Program Implementation
Government Accountability Office
U.S. Army’s Maneuver Short-Range Air Defense (MSHORAD) System—SGT Stout
Congressional Research Service
Rare Earth Elements and U.S. Supply Chains
Congressional Research Service
Research
A soldier with 1st Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne), prepares to load a CH-53E Super Stallion belonging to the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing during Exercise Castaway 21.1 on Ie Shima, Okinawa, Japan, March 17, 2021. (Photo by Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Ujian Gosun)
The Implications of “Service Common” for DoD Acquisitions
Peter Gill, Michael Keaty, & Breanne Naone, Naval Postgraduate School
The Department of Defense (DoD) promotes acquisition commonality to reduce redundancy, enhance interoperability, and streamline logistics. Yet, no formal mechanism enables the Services to adopt capabilities developed by United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), resulting in persistent integration failures. This thesis examines the institutional, procedural, and cultural barriers that hinder the transition of Special Operations Forces (SOF)-peculiar systems into Service portfolios. Through comparative analysis of USSOCOM’s Major Force Program (MFP)-11 acquisition authority against Service-based pathways—Major Capability Acquisition (MCA), Middle Tier Acquisition (MTA), and Urgent Capability Acquisition (UCA)—this study identifies friction points in requirements generation, funding alignment, and sustainment ownership. Case studies such as the F-35, MH-47G, MC-130J, RQ-11B Raven, and the Army’s TITAN program reveal how structural mismatches and fragmented oversight delay fielding and erode joint effectiveness.
Modular Open Systems Approach: Impacts on Program Management Metrics
Capt Kaya I. Vogler, USAF, Maj Michael J. Brown, USAF, et. al., Defense Acquisition Research Journal
Many practitioners throughout the acquisition community find that MOSA enables
better opportunities for affordability, rapid acquisition, flexibility, enhanced
competition, and innovation. However, few studies examine MOSA's influence on cost and schedule performance. This research empirically investigates and compares Earned Value Management data for aircraft that do and do not employ open architecture. Overall, findings support that the presence of open architecture is negatively associated with schedule performance around the halfway point for development contracts. It is theorized that programs adopting open architecture may be overly optimistic when
estimating schedule.
The Defense Contract Management Agency's Resource Workload Model Ecosystem
Susan M. Gates, Tom Wingfield, et al, RAND
This report by the RAND Corporation evaluates the Integrated Resource Workload Model, a sophisticated data tool designed to help the Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) align its staffing levels with its mission requirements. The analysis highlights that while the model effectively provides estimates for personnel needs and promotes organizational efficiency, DCMA lacks a clear structure for prioritizing and resourcing for model improvement efforts and adjustments to keep with substantial changes to DCMA's operating environment.
Events
2026 Artificial Intelligence Summit
Potomac Officers Club
19 March 2026
Reston, VA
Sea-Air-Space
Navy League of the United States
19-22 April 2026
National Harbor, Maryland
Converge @ NPS
Naval Postgraduate School Foundation
22-24 July 2026
2026 Air and Space Summit
Potomac Officers Club
30 July 2026
One more thing...
Old-time Navy recruiting posters show women in men's uniforms--and, today, these two Navy women are wear-testing a modern version of the classic men's "cracker jack" uniform. Seaman Ellora Hector (left) and Seaman Apprentice Sheryl A. Rosedoff model the new jumper-style uniform. Credit: U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph, U.S. Naval Institute
Anchored in History: Celebrating Women of the Navy
USNI Archives
The history of women in the United States Navy is a narrative of steady progress, evolving from informal wartime roles to full integration into all military disciplines and leadership positions. Over the past century, legislative changes and pioneering individuals have dismantled barriers, allowing women to serve at sea, in the air, and in command of combatant vessels.
- Formal Beginnings: The 1908 establishment of the Navy Nurse Corps marked the first time women were officially inducted into the Navy, beginning with twenty trailblazing individuals known as "The Sacred Twenty."
- Wartime Expansion: World Wars I and II accelerated inclusion, as the need for stateside personnel led to the enlistment of "Yeomanettes" for clerical work and the creation of the WAVES to fill specialized technical roles like radio operation and aircraft mechanics.
- Legislative Permanence: The Women's Armed Services Integration Act of 1948 finally allowed women to serve as permanent, regular members of the military, although they were still legally restricted from aircraft and vessels engaged in combat.
- Leadership Breakthroughs: The 1970s served as a major turning point, witnessing the appointment of Alene Duerk as the first female Admiral and the opening of surface warfare and aviation fields to women.
- Academic Integration: Significant academic milestones were reached in 1980 when the first class of 55 women graduated from the United States Naval Academy, including Janie Mines, the Academy’s first Black female graduate.
- Full Combat Access: Legal restrictions continued to fall until 2016, when all combat jobs were officially opened to women, following earlier victories like the first female command of a combatant vessel in 1996.
- Specialized Expertise: Women have successfully expanded into high-stakes naval disciplines, including deep-sea diving, explosive ordnance disposal, and serving as unrestricted line officers qualified for submarine duty.
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