Winning the Defense Innovation Contest; Air Force to Train Weapon System Officers to Fly B-21s

INNOVATION

How to Win the Defense Innovation Contest

Washington’s alliances are under immense strain. Many allies and partners are subject to increased threats from great-power adversaries, and they are coming to doubt whether they can rely on the United States. The response to these pressures is to rearm. Like the United States itself, U.S. partners across Asia, Europe, and elsewhere are building up their defense industrial and technological bases to improve their ability to project power, deter enemies, and prevail in a protracted conflict.

The problem is that both the United States and its partners have treated their defense buildups primarily as domestic projects when what they need, in fact, is to pool their resources more effectively. The war with Iran demonstrates the risks of a siloed approach: American legacy platforms—stealth fighters, guided missile destroyers, and aircraft carriers—delivered potent attacks but could not eliminate Iran’s military threat. The conflict rapidly depleted U.S. stockpiles of high-end, long-range strike munitions and air defense interceptors, while U.S. bases, Gulf infrastructure, and shipping through the Strait of Hormuz proved vulnerable to cheap and plentiful Iranian missiles and drones.

AI

Marines eye cloudless networks to keep AI tools running when the cloud goes down

The software company Ditto says it can solve a key problem by networking “whatever transports the customer brings.”

The Pentagon’s AI Strategy Has a Funding Problem

In the span of two weeks, the White House issued two of the most ambitious artificial intelligence directives in American history. On June 2, President Donald Trump signed an executive order mandating rapid AI adoption and hardened cyber defense across the government. Three days later, National Security Presidential Memorandum 11 directed every element of the national security enterprise to accelerate AI adoption, anchored by four pillars: adoption, adaptation, assurance, and accountability.

Nokia, NestAI combine 5G, AI, and sensing for constant battlefield connectivity

Two Finnish companies, Nokia and NestAI, have announced the first products built through their 2025 partnership. The systems, which connect AI, 5G connectivity, and advanced sensing, allow users in contested, jammed environments to maintain “ command and control, support autonomous systems, and reduce reliance on fixed communications infrastructure.”