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Event Recap

Dec 2, 2016

Drones in the Energy Sector: Soaring into the Future?

By Kate Schwartz

On December 2, 2016, an expert panel joined the Atlantic Council’s Global Energy Center for a conversation about the practices, risks, and benefits of drone use in the energy industry. The panel deliberated whether regulations currently under development impede or facilitate the emerging role for drones. They also discussed the huge potential for drone technology […]

Drones Energy & Environment

Defense Industrialist

Nov 3, 2016

Technological disjunctures and the 21st century destroyer

By Danny Lam

The future of surface warfare requires cooperation across borders. Sea control in the twentieth century revolved around fleets based on battleships, then aircraft carriers. Lesser vessels like destroyers and frigates were for constabulary duty during peacetime, and during wartime, for assisting the main battle fleet in defeating opposing navies to restore control of seas. In […]

China Conflict

Defense Industrialist

Nov 1, 2016

Will Roper’s economical way back to coastal artillery

By James Hasik

Not every Third Offset choice will be this easy, but the Strategic Capabilities Office has found an excellent solution. At the CSIS’s Third Offset Conference last week, Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced that Will Roper’s Strategic Capabilities Office has found a solution to the United States’ shortfall in coastal artillery. The simplicity is almost obvious: modify the Army’s existing Army Tactical Missile […]

Defense Industry Defense Technologies

Defense Industrialist

Oct 18, 2016

With GPS, failure is not an option.

By James Hasik

For all its dependency on GPS, the Pentagon has been quietly ignoring the potential vulnerabilities of GPS—until just about now. Raytheon’s new GPS Operational Control System (OCX) might just be the most troubled program the Pentagon is running. This June, OCX incurred a dreaded Nunn-McCurdy breach, when its projected costs were judged to have increased […]

Defense Industry Drones

Defense Industrialist

Sep 27, 2016

Beyond the MAD-ness of the Airbus-Boeing rivalry

By James Hasik

In the long run, military requirements and funding may matter more than trade disputes. In a 574-page report last week, the World Trade Organization ruled that the European Union and several of its member states had failed to adjust their behavior on their subsidies to Airbus, after its last mammoth ruling on their subsidies to […]

Defense Industry Defense Technologies

Defense Industrialist

Sep 26, 2016

Applying an investor’s mindset to military aid

By James Hasik

Restricting US military aid may affect more than Israeli industry and the IDF. As has been widely reported, the United States and Israeli governments have come to a new ten-year understanding of how the former will subsidize the latter’s military spending. The new amount that the Obama Administration promises to submit annually to the US […]

Defense Industry Drones

Defense Industrialist

Sep 14, 2016

How to man the unmanned: A counterpoint

By Ian Fairchild

Unquestionably, the Air Force needs to retain experienced operators if the service hopes to remain the most powerful air force on the planet. The question of how to best do this surfaces in many areas. How to retain more women and minorities? How to retain more fighter pilots? Earlier this week, Defense Industrialist editor James […]

Defense Industry Drones

Defense Industrialist

Sep 8, 2016

How to man the unmanned

By James Hasik

With enthusiastic recruits, from all corners, and with a lot of cash. In the New York Times this past Tuesday, Michael Schmidt wrote of how the the US Air Force, “Running Low on Drone Pilots,” is turning to contractors to reconnoitre battlefields. Many of these are “former drone or fighter pilots who are making double or […]

Afghanistan Conflict

Defense Industrialist

Aug 8, 2016

Don’t let pre-decisional become the enemy of good enough

By James Hasik

Early discussions between the military and industry are essential for finding financially sustainable ways of war. It’s a pretty big mess when the service secretary hasn’t heard about the latest procurement programs—which means that they’re maybe not really procurement programs. They’re at best, as Deborah James recently said with that awkward Washingtonian word, “pre-decisional.” As […]

Defense Industry Drones

Defense Industrialist

Apr 13, 2016

Like Predator, like Sea Hunter

By James Hasik

DARPA’s new robotic frigate might seriously change naval warfare. The prototype boat in DARPA’s ASW Continuous Trail Unmanned Vessel (ACTUV) program, the Sea Hunter, is beginning sea trials. Sailing last week from Portland to San Diego, she’ll undergo two years of testing to determine whether an unmanned ship under “sparse human control” can trail Iranian, […]

Defense Industry Drones
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Experts

Fellow

Dominika Kunertova

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security Transatlantic Security Initiative

Artificial Intelligence Central Europe

Fellow

Thomas X. Hammes

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Forward Defense Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security

Conflict Defense Industry

Millennium fellow

Jessie Ilkson

Director, Government Affairs, General Atomics

Millennium Leadership Program

Defense Industry Defense Technologies

Fellow

Patrick O’Reilly

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Forward Defense Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security

Defense Policy Drones

Fellow

Ali Bakir

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative

Conflict Defense Industry