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This is not a debate about manned versus unmanned, nor about exquisite versus cheap. It is about operational effectiveness.
In the absence of direction and accountability, an “assume breach” mindset can help agencies and operators prepare for attacks and expedite the implementation of this
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.
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.
Where we once the U.S. made 30 percent of the world supply of printed circuit boards, the U.S. now makes only 4 percent.
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.
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