Maritime (Formerly Shipbuilding, Undersea Domain) May 20, 2020

Undersea Domain Industry Study

The undersea domain remains key to national security and global trade. The U.S. must invest in a portfolio of undersea recommendations that considers full cost-spectrum capabilities, protects critical infrastructure, enables new technological gains, and postures industry to maintain asymmetric advantage during great power competition. The research conducted in this study identifies challenges in the U.S. defense industrial complex. The undersea industry cannot scale and mobilize using traditional means. Initiatives expressed in this document present steps to resource the undersea industrial ecosystem appropriately, refine UUV requirements, enhance competition in the industrial base, reorient the current shipbuilding paradigm, and augment diplomatic efforts. In addition to having the world’s greatest sailors, our recommendations will ensure the U.S. Navy can continue to provide an asymmetric undersea advantage.

Weapons (Formerly Munitions) May 15, 2020

Munitions

For military members engaged in direct combat, access to a reliable and sufficient munitions supply is essential to lethality. As stated in a 2009 Lexington Institute study, “Maintaining an adequate supply of reliable ammunition is challenging under the best of circumstances. In wartime, the challenge becomes exponentially greater as demand increases, and pre-war production capabilities are stressed.”1 Nineteen years of continuous combat, uncertain defense budgets, and a decline in critical suppliers have put great strains on the United States (U.S.) military resourcing systems and strategic stockpiles.2 These strains have manifested themselves in aging equipment and infrastructure, shortages of low-density high-demand assets, and concern over the ability to surge or mobilize for a high-end major theater war; the munitions industrial base (MIB) is no exception. Gaps in the MIB directly translate to gaps in the warfighter’s ability to deliver kinetic effects on targets. While portions of the MIB are vigorous and looking to expand market shares in rapidly changing technologies, the Department of Defense (DoD) and policymakers should undertake a coordinated effort to identify, mitigate, and retire current and projected risks in the MIB. The nation’s security and readiness for surge and/or mobilization in a great power conflict depends on a robust, secure, resilient, and innovative MIB.

Cyber (Formerly Information and Communications Technology) Dec. 17, 2019

Cyber Domain and Advanced Computing

The United States is in a great power competition that is increasingly fueled by an information revolution within the ever-evolving cyber domain. To enable future leaders and policy-makers to prevail in this domain, the Eisenhower School’s Cyber Domain / Advanced Computing Industry Study (IS) examined key information technologies (IT), including artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, commercial cloud, and quantum computing. The U.S. Government should increase its partnerships with academia and private industry as a triple helix of intertwined equities and investments. Doing so will stimulate economic growth, address threats, and develop human capital. U.S. leadership is needed to encourage and enact effective cyber legislation and policies to protect citizens. Such a strategic approach enables development of a cyber-savvy culture and society capable of nurturing international cyber norms and fostering global cooperation.

Artificial Intelligence (Formerly Emerging Technology) May 31, 2019

Emerging Technology Industry Study

2019 Antonelli Award Winner: This paper provides an overview of the challenges and opportunities that emerging technology has for the United States (U.S.) National Security and for national competitive advantage. Emerging technology comes from innovation and research in universities, government research labs, and private industry. New technology has always been central to the Department of Defense (DoD), and, traditionally, much of the new technology was developed throughout the government, giving the DoD early and direct access to the most cutting-edge technological advances. What has changed recently is that emerging technology, such as artificial intelligence (AI), is now being developed and adopted first by private companies for the commercial market. Meanwhile, as the DoD struggles to identify, adopt, and field emerging technology to warfighters, China’s civil-military fusion policies provide its military direct access to new technology. This paper examines the implications of the U.S.’s and China’s contrasting approaches to innovation. To innovate while proactively protecting and preserving the existing system, the U.S. should work with allies and partners to invest in education and vocational training; promote policies to encourage technology clusters; promote business-friendly regulations; and use national security requirements to encourage innovation for defense applications. Simply put, it is imperative that the U.S. establishes and maintains an AI advantage in order to ensure favorable and sustainable conditions for technological innovation.

C4ISR March 23, 2019

Command, Control, Computers Communications, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR)

This is the first year Command, Control, Computers Communications, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) is an Eisenhower School Industry Study. The specific focus for academic year 2018-2019 was Air Force C4ISR. The Air Force focused approach fostered broad insights about how the Department of Defense should engage with industry. This study defines C4ISR as an integrated operational capability supported by a myriad of technologies and industries. The guiding study question was: How does the DoD better enable the defense industrial base to exploit emerging C4ISR technologies in order to maintain a competitive advantage in an era of great power competition? In answer to this question, this report offers four interrelated propositions. First, it argues that four relevant industries: 1) Aerospace and Defense, 2) Information Technology (IT) Hardware, 3) IT Services, and 4) Software are healthy and capable of meeting the Department’s requirements. This leads to the second point; the locus of effort must start with the Department’s uncoordinated and archaic interactions with these industries. Next, the report argues that outdated DoD business practices restrict product innovation, inhibit industrial base growth, and stymie human capital improvement. Finally, this report argues that Air Force and DoD must embrace new modalities, business practices, technologies, and policies to think differently about C4ISR. Based on these four propositions, this report offers the seven key recommendations listed on the next two pages.

Advanced Manufacturing Oct. 18, 2018

Advanced Manufacturing: A Strategy to Support Advanced Security

The recently released National Security Strategy notes manufacturing is both an economic and national security imperative. Manufacturing is a key contributor to U.S. prosperity, impacting jobs, research and development, and new weapons systems. The state of U.S. manufacturing is at once both impressive and troubling. U.S. manufacturers remain on the cutting-edge of technology, but the last fifteen years have been devastating to the health of the sector and its workforce. This is a significant national security challenge. To remain a leading global power, U.S. policy must redirect the macroeconomic trends that have made other manufacturing destinations more attractive than the United States. To lead the world’s next industrial revolution, the United States needs to create a welcoming environment for advanced manufacturing, one that includes a collection of technologies like digitization, artificial intelligence, automation, big data analytics, and additive manufacturing.

Agribusiness Oct. 12, 2018

Agribusiness

Food insecurity is strategically important and ties directly to US agriculture, which remains “fundamental to our survival.” Its value must be leveraged to address, mitigate, and respond to global shaping forces that are challenging the US agribusiness industry and negatively impacting US sustainable agricultural goals as well as national objectives. Therefore, the US must continue to develop robust ‘whole of government’ policies that provide for food security, address threats of aggressive economic competition and agroterrorism, and inform a comprehensive strategic approach. This will be necessary to “protect the integrity, safety, and resiliency of America’s food system,” while advancing global food security, which “remains core to our national security.”

Aircraft (Formerly Air Domain) Oct. 10, 2018

Aircraft

The United States (U.S.) aircraft industry, also known as the Aerospace and Defense (A&D) industry, is a Department of Defense (DoD) and National Security (NS) asset. This research explores the importance of the A&D industry. The influence of U.S. government policy and regulation intended to protect and sustain the domestic A&D industry are counterbalanced with federal budget constraints and technology transfer concerns. Specific areas influencing the A&D industry include the balance between export control regulation and industry fiscal health, the implications to domestic defense competition when considering affordability, and the bolstering of the global supply chain in order to preserve U.S. NS interests. To improve the U.S. position in these areas, this paper examines the need for the U.S. to inculcate innovation in the A&D industry. Additionally, the U.S. must continue to reform export control regulations while balancing national security and economic growth opportunities through trade and exports. Finally, the U.S. must confront the challenges of an aging workforce, cyber security, and an increasingly fragile supply chain. A concerted effort on all fronts will ensure a viable A&D industry capable of generating economic growth and meeting security challenges of the 21st century.

Biotechnology Oct. 4, 2018

Biotechnology

In 1990, the U.S. Government launched the largest and most ambitious biology project ever: mapping the human genome. As significant to biology as putting a man on the moon was to physics, the goal for completion was fifteen years at a cost of two billion dollars.1 Thirteen years later, the U.S. Department of Energy and National Institute of Health had led a highly successful public-private partnership across research centers in the United States, United Kingdom, Japan, France, Germany, Spain, and China to map 92% of the human genome with 99.99% accuracy. This initiative helped dramatically reduce the cost of human genome sequencing over the last twenty years. The first “draft” genome sequence in 1999-2000 cost ~$300 million worldwide (of which the National Institute of Health provided 50-60%). By 2017, commercially available techniques reduced this cost to below $1,000. This single metric portends groundbreaking potential for a wide variety of healthcare and quality of life applications. It also highlights a high return on government investment.

Education Oct. 2, 2018

Education

The U.S. education industry provides the foundation for American prosperity. Educational institutions offer various degrees, diplomas, and certifications, such as traditional liberal arts bachelor degrees, technical skills certifications, enhancement education, and specialized professional education. The education industry produces America’s most valuable product and its greatest asset - human capital, the one asset that is the foundation for all other industries. Investment in America’s education industry is essential to achieving National Security objectives of promoting American prosperity and preserving peace through strength for America’s competitive advantage. The return on investment from the U.S. education industry is a skilled workforce able to fill shortages in critical industries that enable the nation to strengthen its defense industrial base (DIB).