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Defense Industrialist

Nov 22, 2013

Military Base Locations and Congressional Deadlock

By James Hasik

Here at the University of Texas this week (I’m a doctoral fellow when not at the Council), I attended a talk by Christopher Preble of the Cato Institute on “Creative Destruction: What Happens When the Military Leaves”. Chris is an historian with an eye for economics, and he has been working to make more tangible […]

Defense Industrialist

Nov 21, 2013

The US Land Systems Industry has Lost its Edge

By James Hasik

But Does that Matter? This week at the Atlantic Council we hosted Linda Hudson, CEO of BAE Systems in the US, as the second speaker in our ‘Captains of Industry’ series. In the press so far, her talk has mostly been covered as an address on the state of human capital in the defense industry, and specifically […]

Defense Industrialist

Nov 15, 2013

Hellfire and Brimstone

By James Hasik

More on the Perils of Joint and Domestic Development The other day I cited the head of C2 at Air Combat Command as saying that the USAF’s goal with its next fighter is “to avoid another ‘joint’ acquisition.”  While the history of joint developments has been troubled, one might criticize my argument by making virtue of […]

Defense Industrialist

Nov 14, 2013

All of Us are Trying to Avoid Another ‘Joint Acquisition.’

By James Hasik

That title was the quote earlier this month by Stan Newberry, head of C2 integration at US Air Combat Command, in Sandra Erwin’s article “Air Force Weapon Buyers Brace for Lean Times.” Newberry acknowledged that the Air Force’s plans for the ‘F-X’—the thing that is supposed to follow the F-35A—does involve cooperating with the Navy […]

Defense Industrialist

Nov 12, 2013

England Without a Shipyard?

By James Hasik

What the Scottish Threat Reveals About the Cost of Domestic Shipbuilding England, it seems, will soon be without a naval construction yard. Defense News reported this week that BAE Systems will shortly be closing its yard in Portsmouth, for lack of work from the Royal Navy, and consolidating all its British shipbuilding on the Clyde in Scotland. […]

Defense Industrialist

Nov 1, 2013

Corporate Strategy that Befits Industrial Policy

By James Hasik

AeroVironment’s Possible Alliance with Eurocopter Market contractions are frequently time for industrial restructuring, yet merger activity in defense is at a ten-year low. To start, a handful of strong signals from the US and German governments have discouraged even speculation about mergers between the largest firms. Moreover, with so much uncertainty over customers’ spending plans, valuations are hard […]

Defense Industrialist

Oct 29, 2013

Taming the Overzealous Implementation of BBP

By James Hasik

When Deputy Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter announced recently his pending retirement, we at the Council began to think about his legacy, both in that job and in his previous as under secretary for acquisition, technology, and logistics (USD AT&L). Perhaps his most salient initiative was the Better Buying Power guidance of 2010. Through the first and […]

Defense Industrialist

Oct 17, 2013

Gauging the Implications of Disruptive Technologies in European Security Challenges

By James Hasik

Last week, the Atlantic Council hosted a delegation of the Party of European Socialists for a discussion of the implications of disruptive technologies. Remarks were off-the-record, but my presentation on the implications for European security (one of three from Council senior fellows) should be open for consideration. As my two colleagues spent their time talking […]

Defense Industrialist

Oct 10, 2013

Technology or Skill?

By James Hasik

What Determines Military Quality, and Why Should Industry care? Battlefield performance may be a rare arbiter of military quality, but when the opportunity arises, it forms an unmistakable signal. So before any military forces and the industries behind them land in that crucible, it’s worth asking what inputs predict which organizations are more likely to emerge […]

Defense Industrialist

Oct 8, 2013

Full, Open, and Unhelpful

By James Hasik

On Paring Back Clearance Lists for ID/IQ Contracts At our inaugural Captains of Industry event last week, Excelis CEO Dave Melcher had a few sound ideas for the folks who run procurement policy at the Pentagon. I’ve been reading over those, and one which stood out concerned the Defense Department’s current approach to indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity […]

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