The Pentagon, defense companies, and think tanks all conclude that the United States’ weapons inventories are woefully inadequate for a war with China. But manufacturers cannot surge production of today’s exquisite munitions because these weapons depend on specialized components and techniques. Yet contrary to this popular wisdom, Ukrainian forces have found that weapons stockpiled in large numbers are often rendered obsolete by enemy countermeasures before the stockpile is depleted.
A recent Hudson report suggested that the US Department of Defense should address this contradiction by adopting a new family of modular weapons that emphasize adaptability and scale. In this approach, most components—including radios, computers, servomotors, and sensors—would come from commercial sources. Weapons-specific components like structures, warheads, and propulsion would be manufacturable at scale and on demand.
At Hudson, Senior Fellows Bryan Clark and Nadia Schadlow will host military and industry experts to discuss this new approach to weapon development and the DoD’s progress in fielding adaptable, scalable weapons systems.
Please join Hudson Institute for a fireside chat with Senior Fellow and Keystone Defense Initiative Director Rebeccah Heinrichs and John Spencer, chair of Urban Warfare Studies at the Modern War Institute at West Point and co-director of the Urban Warfare Project.
Join Hudson Institute and the Ben Franklin Fellowship for a two-panel discussion examining US policy as it confronts the crisis of terror in Nigeria.
Join Hudson Institute's Center for the Economics of the Internet for a keynote address given by Tricia Paoletta on the Trump administration's progress in managing and reallocating the electromagnetic radio frequency spectrum from the federal domain.
Join Hudson Institute for a discussion with Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson and Senior Fellow Harold Furchtgott-Roth.
