Advanced Manufacturing May 31, 2024

Advancing US Manufacturing: National Goals, Strategic Competition, and the Capabilities of Allies and Partners

From November 2023 to May 2024, the Eisenhower School’s Advanced Manufacturing (AM) Industry Study undertook an analysis of current capabilities, policy, and practices regarding domestic and global AM, focused on four key areas: (1) AM technology, (2) workforce, (3) supply chain, and (4) international cooperation and competition focused on Mexico, Canada, India, the European Union (EU), the Russian Federation, and the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Students leveraged frameworks learned during their Industry Analysis and Strategic Acquisition and Resourcing courses during the analysis. The seminar conducted extensive fieldwork in the National Capital Region, as well as targeted studies in the manufacturing hubs of Pittsburgh, Knoxville, Chicago, Indiana, Oregon, and Ontario, Canada. Contributions also came from academic institutions and interactions with international government partners, enhancing the breadth and depth of the research. Throughout the study, the seminar operated with the mindset that AM is a continuous improvement process, not a discrete set of tools, processes, or materials.

Advanced Manufacturing: May 30, 2022

Better, Faster, Stronger: Building National Competitiveness Through Advanced Manufacturing

2022 Antonelli Award Winner -- For decades, globalization has facilitated positive economic ties and development. It also made the US economy vulnerable to disruptions, material shortages, and international competition. As the Biden Administration observed, domestic manufacturing capacity is essential to the reliable availability of the goods, components, and equipment on which America's security, economic prosperity, and international influence rely. Fortunately, Industry 4.0 and Advanced Manufacturing offer opportunities to improve domestic manufacturing capacity. Industry 4.0 is a vision for combining the power of people, machinery, and technology for more efficient production of goods and services that fuel the global economy. Advanced Manufacturing combines data, technical inputs, and process changes necessary to realize that vision.

Advanced Manufacturing: May 30, 2023

Advanced Manufacturing: A Possible Asymmetric Advantage to Ensure Security, Prosperity, and Values

Despite growing tension over threats to the current world order, the U.S. and like-minded partners maintain the power, tools, and competitive advantage to continue leading the pursuit of economic prosperity, preservation of peace, and defense of sovereignty for all nations. Advanced manufacturing is one such tool that, if developed and employed appropriately, offers the opportunity to further the concept of global prosperity and thwart revisionist ambitions. Analyzing advanced manufacturing is complicated because it is not an industry but a system of technological processes and products that are rapidly evolving. Reinforcing domestic manufacturing by progressing and integrating advanced technologies can help restore U.S. manufacturing capacity, maintain its leadership on the world stage, and usher in the next era of economic prosperity.

Aircraft (formerly Air Domain) May 31, 2024

Is The United States Aircraft Industry Ready for Sustained Global Conflict?

This paper examines the readiness of the United States aircraft industry to prevail in conflict in the current geopolitical landscape. It emphasizes the industry's crucial role in strengthening national security. The research focuses on two key areas: supply chains and the defense industry workforce. In terms of supply chains, the paper highlights the need to construct resilient supply chains amidst geopolitical turbulence. It analyzes the availability and sources of raw materials and rare earth elements, and the vulnerability and resiliency of the aircraft supply chain. The paper identifies challenges in gaining insight into supply chains and offers recommendations to enhance resiliency, reduce dependence on China's raw material industry, improve supply chain visibility, and explore friend-shoring opportunities.

Aircraft (formerly Air Domain): May 30, 2022

Aerial Mass for Strategic Competition: The Quality-Quantity Paradox

As the United States (US) returns to strategic competition and contemplates large scale conventional conflict once again, several factors make a World War II-era surge of military aircraft production highly unlikely. The need for aerial mass, and the associated limitations to mass production in the military aviation industry, together constitute the problem addressed by this report, whose research question is: given constraints in tools, technology, training, and policy within the military aviation industry, what steps can the US government take to ensure sufficient mass for strategic competition?

Aircraft (formerly Air Domain): May 30, 2023

Air Dominance in Strategic Competition: Expanding Uncrewed Systems

The aviation industry provides the bedrock of military power and has for over a hundred years. In the 21st century, technological advances in international weapons systems challenge the survivability of traditionally crewed aircraft. China’s meteoric rise in military power and intent to rebalance the rules-based international order for its benefit necessitates an elevated U.S. emphasis on improving its aircraft capabilities and quantities. The capabilities of currently fielded Chinese and Russian surface-to-air and air-to-air weapons systems necessitate a recognition that crewed U.S. systems will be at significant risk in a peer-to-peer engagement and losses of platforms will be high. The U.S. must look to uncrewed aircraft systems to both increase the number of aircraft in the U.S. arsenal and reduce risk to crewed platforms.

Artificial Intelligence (Formerly Emerging Technologies) May 31, 2024

Keep Moving Forward: The Race to Secure Competitive Advantage in Artificial Intelligence

The 2023-24 Eisenhower School Artificial Intelligence (AI) Industry Study seminar, "Johnny Five," explored the global AI race, focusing on the intense competition between the U.S. and China. Over 45 engagements with government, industry, and academia, the group identified key findings: 1. Innovation Clusters: Success in AI depends on building tech ecosystems, as seen in Silicon Valley and Taiwan. Collaborating with established hubs can help the U.S. and DoD maximize AI potential. 2. Cyber-Physical Systems: The world is transitioning to a cyber-physical age, requiring workforce development in STEM and fostering a "tinkering" mentality in the U.S. to drive innovation. 3. Data Optimization: AI’s effectiveness hinges on high-quality, secure data. Techniques like multimodal sensing and synthetic data are key, but using imperfect data raises ethical concerns. 4. U.S.-China Competition: The U.S. currently leads in areas like AI stack development, academic partnerships, computing, and data optimization, but must maintain this edge amid China's rapid progress. Additionally, the seminar explored the use of generative AI (GAI) tools. While GAI proved helpful for accelerating learning and resource assessments, it struggled with deep analysis and originality. The group recommends incorporating AI into military education, fostering a culture of responsible AI use, and creating ambassadors for AI throughout the national security sector.

Artificial Intelligence (formerly Emerging Technologies): May 30, 2023

Riding the Wave: Maximizing the Opportunities and Mitigating the Risks of Artificial Intelligence Disruption

The rapid evolution of artificial intelligence (AI) is disrupting the world. New capabilities demonstrate AI’s immense opportunities, but they also bring great risks: unsustainable power demand, worker displacement, and new ethical dilemmas that challenge global stability. As the People’s Republic of China pursues its goal to become the global AI superpower by 2030, the U.S. must act quickly and iteratively in collaboration with allies, partners, and industry to channel the disruption toward positive outcomes in an increasingly AI-driven world.

Artificial Intelligence (formerly Emerging Technologies): May 30, 2022

In AI We Trust, All Others We Model

The NSCAI explained in its 2021final report that AI is a unique human invention that is not a single event or technology. Rather, AI is like what Thomas Edison said of electricity, “It is a field of fields… it holds the secrets which will reorganize the life of the world.” Today, we experience AI daily. We interact directly with digital assistants like Alexa, Siri, and Watson or the IRS has our tax returns analyzed by AI to detect fraud. However, the examples today are minor advances (the tip of an iceberg) in comparison to the transformation that is coming.

Autonomous Systems and Robotics (Formerly Robotics) May 31, 2024

Code Of Arms: Autonomous Systems and Robotics and the US Defense Industrial Base

Since the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991, the United States has remained the dominant global power, supported by its strong Defense Industrial Base (DIB). However, technological advancements, globalization, and changing geopolitical dynamics have challenged this position, especially in the context of modern warfare. The rise of autonomous systems and robotics (AS&R) is transforming warfare, as seen in recent conflicts in Ukraine and Israel, offering improved decision-making and reduced human risk. However, the U.S. faces growing competition from adversaries accelerating their AS&R development. The U.S. acquisition system, marked by long development times and a focus on high-cost, sophisticated systems, is hindering its ability to quickly adapt to the evolving AS&R landscape. This challenge is compounded by a weakened industrial base, which struggles to meet the fast-paced demands for modern military technology. Based on a comprehensive five-month study, the paper recommends a policy overhaul to boost AS&R development within the DIB. Key proposals include creating a global regulatory framework to encourage innovation and interoperability, modernizing the Defense Production Act to enhance AS&R capabilities, and strengthening strategic alliances and trade policies to maintain U.S. leadership.