In this week’s episode of Building the Base, Hondo and Lauren join Frank Finelli to discuss the future of the defense industrial network. 

Frank’s varied experiences in the military, on Capitol Hill, and in the private sector have given him a unique lens through which to view the future industrial network and a thorough grasp of the processes of the industrial base. He emphasizes the constraints the DoD is under due to its extensive Planning, Programming, Budgeting, and Execution (PPBE) process and points out how the DoD can follow the lead of other departments and take advantage of capital markets through legislation such as the CHIPS and Science Act and the Inflation Reduction Act. Frank’s interview builds on a War on the Rocks article he co-authored with GEN Joseph Votel and Samuel Cole on the need for the U.S. to better leverage capital markets in support of defense priorities. 

Hondo, Lauren, and Frank go on to discuss a variety of topics, including:

• Leveraging capital markets in support of defense priorities
• Public-private collaboration
• Agility of the commercial sector
• The Valley of Death
• China’s investments in science and technology
• Competition between publicly-funded R&D and private innovation