This article was previously Posted in Defense Newswas co-authored with Joe Felterand pete newell.
Today, the United States supports a proxy war with Russia while trying to deter China’s trans-strait aggression against Taiwan. Both are reminders that victory and deterrence in modern warfare are determined by the capabilities of nations. both Rapidly acquire, deploy, and integrate commercial technology (such as drones, satellites, and targeting software) at all levels into operations while using traditional weapon systems.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces are not plagued by the Pentagon’s 65-year-old takeover process and 20th-century operational concepts. It learns and adapts on the fly. China has leapt to a “whole country” approach. This will People’s Liberation Army (PLA) will integrate private capital and commercial technology and use them as a force multiplier to dominate the South China Sea and prepare for war Invasion across the Taiwan Strait.
The Department of Defense does none of these things. Currently organized and directed to implement conventional weapons systems and operational concepts with conventional vendors and research centers, they are terribly ill-prepared for large-scale integration of commercial technology and private capital.
Echoing SecDef Ash Carter’s 2015 strategy, China civil/military fusion adopt a coordinated effort across government Harnessing these disruptive commercial technologies for national security needs.To facilitate the development of defense-essential technologies, China $900 billion of private capital Invested in civil/military guidance (investment) funds and acquired state-owned companies to finance new shipyards, aircraft and avionics. Worse, China will learn from Russia’s failure in Ukraine and apply its lessons at an ever-increasing pace.
However, unlike the United States’ greatest strategic rivals, the United States, to date, has been reluctant and unable to adapt and adopt new models of systems and operational concepts to match the speed of its adversaries. These include expendable systems, autonomous systems, swarms, and other emerging new defensive platforms that threaten legacy systems, incumbent vendors, organizations, and cultures. (until todayUS efforts were still born Mediocre support for unique defense innovation units A history of lost capabilities, such as those inherent in the U.S. Army’s Rapid Armed Forces.)
By viewing the DoD budget as a zero-sum game, key defense personnel and K Street lobbyists have become saboteurs of the DoD’s organizational innovation, threatening its business model. Using private capital could be a power multiplier by adding tens of billions of dollars outside the Pentagon’s budget. Today, private capital is reluctant to participate in national security, with incentives adjusted to ensure that the U.S. military is organized and structured to fight and win the wars of the last century. As such, the United States is on a collision course that will experience catastrophic failure in future conflicts. Only Congress can change this equation.
For the US to Deter China and Win, the Pentagon Must Create both strategies and a redesigned organization Open to untapped external resources: private capital and commercial innovation. Currently, the Department of Defense does not have a coherent plan and an organization with the budget and mandate to do so.
The Department of Defense has been reorganized and refocused to acquire conventional weapons systems while rapidly acquiring, deploying and integrating commercial technology. National industrial policies encouraging the development of 21st century shipyards, drones and satellite factories; CHIPS, innovation and competition act.
Congress must act to identify and implement changes within the Department of Defense necessary to optimize its organization and structure. These include:
- Create a new defense ecosystem that uses external commercial innovation ecosystems and private capital as power multipliers. Federally funded research and development centers (FFRDCMore) for areas not covered by commercial technology (kinetics, energetics, nuclear, hypersonic).
- Reorganize Department of Defense research and engineering. Allocate budgets and resources evenly between traditional sources of innovation and new commercial sources of innovation and capital. Split the OSD R&E organization in half. Focus your current organization on maintaining the status quo. Create a peer organization that is the undersecretary of defense for commercial innovation and private capital.
- scale up new Strategic Capital Office (OSC) and defense innovation unit (DIU) will be the main agency of this new organization. give them budget and authority To do so, and to provide services with the means to do the same.
- Reorganize acquisition and maintenance of the Department of Defense. Allocate budgets and resources evenly between traditional and new sources of production. From the 21st century arsenal – New shipyards, drone manufacturers, etc. – Create thousands of low-cost, wear-resistant systems.
- Coordinate with allies. Expand the National Security Innovation Base (NSIB) into an Alliance Security Innovation Base. Procure commercial technology from allies.
Why is it up to Congress?
National power is fleeting. A nation declines when it loses allies, economic power, or interest in world affairs, when it experiences civil wars and civil wars, when it misses disruptive technological transitions and new operational concepts.
All of these are happening or can be claimed to be happening in the United States
There is a historic precedent for Congress’ actions to ensure that the Pentagon is organized to fight and win our wars. The Goldwater/Nichols Act of 1986 By reorganizing the roles of the services and the Joint Chiefs of Staff and creating the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Combat Force, we laid the foundation for conducting coordinated and effective joint operations. The U.S. Congress must take Ukrainian and Chinese control of the South China Sea as a call to action and immediately establish a commission to determine the reforms and changes necessary to enable the U.S. to fight and win future wars. must be
Part of the Pentagon understands that it is in danger of deterring a war in the South China Sea or winning it if it fails, but the Pentagon as a whole shows little urgency, You are missing an important point. China will not postpone the resolution of the Taiwan issue. Problem with our schedule. Russia will not postpone future invasion plans to meet our schedule. You must act now.
We are failing to do so, at our own risk and at the risk of all those who depend on the security of the United States for their survival.
Filed under: China, National Security, Innovation, Great Power Competition |