Key Takeaways
1. Currently, military-technical competitive advantage is driven more by software, data, and artificial intelligence and the new tactics they enable than by bent metal and physics. Software is the glue that binds our military professionals and systems together, and digital data increasingly defines the loop between development and operations.
2. The Department of Defense needs to allocate resources and manage programs in ways that recognize the central role of software—not legacy ships, aircraft, and vehicles—in controlling the speed and efficacy of modern kill chains and imposing military dilemmas.
3. Acquisition leaders can lead this change without overhauling law or regulation by building organizations and pipelines that can change code change quickly and securely, dividing complex software development efforts into manageable chunks that remain interoperable, and infusing projects with digital talent, security practices, ongoing learning and improvement, and user feedback.
A decade ago venture capitalist Marc Andreessen argued that software was eating the world. Today the US military is wrestling with that reality as defense systems, like consumer electronics, increasingly derive their capability from algorithms and digital data. But exploiting the opportunities in software-derived capabilities will require the Pentagon to move beyond its industrial model of acquisition to embrace new approaches that enable integrating development and operations through a program’s lifetime.
Please join Hudson Senior Fellows Bryan Clark and Dan Patt for a discussion on the new Hudson report Software Defines Tactics and how the Pentagon can field software-defined capabilities without waiting for acquisition reform. The panel will include former DoD Chief Software Officer Jason Weiss and former Assistant Secretary of the Navy James “Hondo” Geurts.
Dr. Sebastian Gorka, will meet with Dr. Michael Doran to discuss the evolving global terrorist threat, the future of United States counterterrorism strategy, and how counterterrorism shapes US policy in the Middle East.
Join Hudson Adjunct Fellow Daniel Batlle and a panel of leading analysts as they examine what lies ahead for Peru and whether the country can convert its economic potential into lasting security and sovereignty ahead of its 2026 elections.
Join Hudson Senior Fellows Bryan Clark and Michael Roberts for a discussion with government and industry leaders about the challenges the US Navy and Coast Guard face amid modernization efforts and how new legislation and regulation can help restore America’s maritime superiority.
Join Hudson Institute Senior Fellow and Director for the Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East Michael Doran for a conversation with Reverend Johnnie Moore, president of the Congress of Christian Leaders and founder of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.
