Nadia Schadlow
U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Tequarrie Jackson, 332nd Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron small unmanned aircraft systems operator, controls a Skydio quadcopter in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility Nov. 6, 2025. The sUAS team specializes in aerial defense through reconnaissance, target identification, and terrain observation by flying drones around base perimeters to better protect and defend personnel and assets. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Kari Degraffenreed)
The central theme of Secretary of War Pete Hegseth’s recent speech on acquisition reform was that commercial companies and technologies are at the foundation of a strong defense industrial base and military innovation. As he put it, the department wants to harness more of America’s cutting-edge companies to focus their talent and technologies on our toughest national-security problems. New results won’t appear overnight, but the direction launched by Hegseth is the right one.
That’s why defense policymakers should be cautious about a provision now under consideration in the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that could undercut the dynamism we need in one of our most critical emerging defense sectors: unmanned autonomous systems
No comments:
Post a Comment