Achieving Adaptable Scale: Fielding Military Capabilities as a Service
Despite more than a decade of reforms to the United States Department of Defense’s acquisition processes, the Pentagon still struggles to field systems that take advantage of new technologies at the pace and scale routinely seen in commercial products and services. Procurement officials have sought to improve results within the current framework. But the DoD budgeting process often hinders their ability to reallocate funding from failing programs to those that address real operational problems.Fielding capabilities via services contracts is not a comprehensive solution to systemic acquisition practices. But it would circumvent bureaucratic roadblocks and deliver innovative technologies to warfighters more quickly. Buying capabilities as a service can enable the co-evolution of technology and tactics, helping commanders develop adequate solutions to their operational problems and make continued improvements to fielded capabilities.Join Hudson Senior Fellow Bryan Clark, Representative Rob Wittman (R-VA), General Mike Minihan (US Air Force, Ret.), and experts from the defense industry for a series of discussions examining the challenges and opportunities the Pentagon may face when adopting a services model to meet urgent capability needs.
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Building a Flexible Force Modular Weapons and the Future of Defense audio
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.
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Tokyo as a Window for Global Japan: A Conversation with Governor Yuriko Koike
As a global trade and technology leader, Tokyo is a hub for international investment, innovative startups, and forward-thinking social and mobility infrastructure while Japan adapts to shifting demographic, immigration, and tourism trends.Hudson’s Japan Chair will welcome Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike to give a keynote speech on the city’s role in Japanese engagement with the United States and the wider world. Following her address, the governor will sit down for a fireside chat with Japan Chair Kenneth R. Weinstein.
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Senator Marsha Blackburn on AI, Online Safety, and Data Privacy
Hudson’s Center for the Economics of the Internet will welcome Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) to speak about pressing digital safety issues facing Congress. With Senior Fellow Harold Furchtgott-Roth, she will discuss artificial intelligence and protecting creators, the Kids Online Safety Act, the Open App Markets Act, and comprehensive data privacy.Â
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Politics, Loyalty, and Survival: A Conversation with Salena Zito
Journalist and author Salena Zito will join Hudson Senior Fellow Paul Sracic to discuss her new book Butler: The Untold Story of the Near Assassination of Donald Trump and the Fight for America’s Heartland. Zito’s work offers insight into the communities and cultural forces driving American politics during President Donald Trump’s campaign for reelection and in the wake of the assassination attempt at his Butler, Pennsylvania, rally. Drawing on years of on-the-ground reporting, she explores the values, frustrations, and loyalties shaping the nation’s political realignment.
Founded in 1961 by strategist Herman Kahn, Hudson Institute challenges conventional thinking and helps manage strategic transitions through interdisciplinary studies in defense, international relations, economics, energy, technology, culture, and law.
Hudson seeks to guide policymakers and global leaders in government and business through a robust program of publications, conferences, policy briefings, and recommendations.
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