The New Iron Triangle Achieving Adaptability and Scale in Defense Acquisition

The war in Ukraine offers numerous lessons regarding the future of military operations. One of the most important—and most underreported—is the value of adaptation. Ukrainian troops, previously on the offensive thanks to Western precision weapons, are now on the defensive as their rockets and bombs miss targets due to Russian electronic warfare. In the Black Sea, Ukraine’s early naval losses suggested Russian dominance. But lethal new naval drones have restored Ukraine’s access to the open ocean and constrained Russia’s fleet to its own coastline.  

The United States and other North Atlantic Treaty Organization militaries will likely face a similar challenge in future confrontations against Russia, China, or their proxies. Merely stockpiling today’s weapons or expanding their production capacity could lock in obsolescence against technologically sophisticated sophisticated opponents. US and allied militaries will need an industrial base that can both modify today’s weapons or combat systems and produce them in volume—then be prepared to repeat the cycle in response to enemy countermeasures. 

Join Hudson and the Apex Conference Series for a three-part event discussing the challenges and opportunities facing Western militaries and defense industries as they attempt to achieve relevant capability at scale.

Agenda

12:00 p.m. | Remarks and Fireside Chat

• Rob Wittman, United States Representative, First District of Virginia

Moderators

• Bryan Clark, Senior Fellow and Director, Center for Defense Concepts and Technology, Hudson Institute
• Dan Patt, Senior Fellow, Center for Defense Concepts and Technology, Hudson Institute

12:45 p.m. | Lunch

1:15 p.m. | Panel 1: The DoD’s Efforts to Achieve Relevant Capability at Scale

• Aditi Kumar, Deputy Director, Strategy, Policy, National Security Partnerships, Defense Innovation Unit
• Lt. Gen. Robert M. Collins, Principal Military Deputy to the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology
• Mitch Skiles, Senior Vice President, Army Programs, Palantir Technologies
• Andy Green, Executive Vice President and President of Mission Technologies Division, HII

Moderator

• Nadia Schadlow, Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute

2:15 p.m. | Panel 2: Industry’s Efforts to Develop New Approaches to Adapt and Scale 

• Joe Laurenti, Chief Executive Officer, Ursa Major
• Michael Brasseur, Chief Strategy Officer, Saab
• Michael Hiatt, Chief Engineer, Epirus
• Josh Martin, Vice President for Government Relations, Varda Industries

Moderators

• Bryan Clark, Senior Fellow and Director, Center for Defense Concepts and Technology, Hudson Institute
• Dan Patt, Senior Fellow, Center for Defense Concepts and Technology, Hudson Institute

3:00 p.m. | Reception