Defense Opinion is the essential non-partisan outlet for commentary on national security, defense spending and weapons systems. Learn More
Getting these platforms into the hands of forces is critical, but fielding tools is only the start. Leaders must ensure people have the time, training and permission to learn them well.
Modernizing the deeply entrenched acquisition process is certainly a formidable task, but one that is essential.
Justin Sanchez • JANUARY 5, 2026
Elevating AI and chips to national priorities is essential, but it’s also time to give biotechnology and biosecurity the same strategic focus. The U.S. should stop treating biosecurity as a low-visibility, high-impact endeavor and recommit to biotechnology as a launchpad for economic prosperity, with biosecurity as the guardrails that keep us accelerating in the right direction into the future.
The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command must modernize networks, data environments and coalition structures. It must also enhance cybersecurity strategies to achieve decision dominance by 2027 and beyond.
The prospect of losing a large defense contractor seems particularly ill advised considering the administration’s national defense strategy that demands vast defense expertise and industrial capacity amid growing threats.
Europe must match its rules to its goals. If it wants shared capability, it must fund shared programs.
Cross-domain security technologies can provide a secure bridge to enable secure data exchange.
The Trump administration can’t meet its “Arsenal of Freedom” goals without the combined efforts of the full range of American expertise: new entrants, prime innovators and commercial crossovers.
The catastrophic export control failures of both the Netherlands and E.U. mean this challenge must now be addressed by other approaches available to NATO nations.
Subscribe to receive our commentaries as they are published.