Wendy R. Anderson

It will take a combination of this outside the building/private sector leadership AND inside the Pentagon innovation culture to achieve real and lasting change. This is an existential moment for our national security and the private sector is stepping up. Will the Pentagon match their challenge?

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Missile Technology Control Regime (#MTCR) news… Key phrase: “The NSM directs the interagency to provide increased flexibility for case-by-case review and facilitate support for certain MTCR Category I military missiles, Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS), and Space Launch Vehicle (SLV) systems to certain partners with strong export control systems.” If you’re a space company, this interests you: “In support of the U.S. Space Priorities Framework (USSPF) and the promotion of international cooperation in space, and in accordance with the MTCR Guidelines, transfers of MTCR Category I SLV related commodities, software, and technology will be considered on a case-by-case basis for select and vetted partner space programs and participation in international space programs, whether such programs are governmental or commercial in nature.” ****** Not sure I can assess much from the fact sheet, as the results are always seen in the implemention. #MTCR issues are tough, especially given the technologies involved. But what is true is that the strategic environment is very different now than when the #MTCR was originally introduced. That means we need to adjust our regulatory systems - including the #MTCR - at the speed of the threat. There’s much more work to do on #MTCR issues, especially for America’s closest allies. #MTCR #exportcontrols #AUKUS https://lnkd.in/eC9Qg52N

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I come in at around 11:53, where I talk about what space security means, what counterspace consists of, and SWF's global counterspace threat assessment. Check it out below!

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This is a great, thought provoking article ( h/t to Anastasia Bodnar for flagging). I am not a fan of disruptive change for the sake of disruption & my own experience in federal service lends itself to supporting the dedicated work of the civil service and crucial importance of federal agencies and programs... but, there is always room for improvement and evolution. Bureaucracy is not a dirty word - in fact, it can protect critical functions from political whiplash - but evidence based policy requires continuous assessment of whether we are achieving what we aimed to achieve. And there should be room for thoughtful, informed discussion of these issues. https://lnkd.in/e2twpP9Y

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This is a timely read from Austin Gray on the threat posed by China's UxV production capacity. DoD must accelerate procurement timelines so that maritime platforms like Vatn Systems's Skelmir S6 can be deployed at scale. https://lnkd.in/eyUKwZdq

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Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Policy Jeffrey Nadaner writes that we should reauthorize but also modernize the Defense Production Act (DPA). Among his recommendations: Use loan guarantees to expand investment in the industrial base. "Loan guarantees can be the cheapest yet most effective way to attract private sector investment... This approach retains private sector entrepreneurial initiative and decision-making rather than have the government pick winners." More adoption of commercial technology. "Break up the oligopoly of traditional aerospace and defense contractors by facilitating the entry of commercial technology providers who have been so effective in space launch, unmanned/autonomous systems, and software." Automatically apply FAST 41 authorities to streamline permitting processes for infrastructure development in the defense industrial base. Implement "guardrails" to make sure the DPA is used for defense and not as a "catchall tool for an administration's priorities." #defenseindustry  https://lnkd.in/dNncQpMA 

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The evolving threat landscape on the US Southern Border highlights the importance of leveraging insights from distant conflicts. Stay informed with Terrogence Codex - now available through GSA with an exclusive End of Fiscal Year offer. Check out more details here: https://lnkd.in/gJXzDrUT

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Today on First Breakfast, a timely guest post from Nadia Schadlow on Reindustrialization: "Reindustrialization is not all about additional government spending. It is about incentivizing new supply and demand opportunities, and unleashing American capital and ingenuity." This is a good heuristic for determining the efficacy of regulation: "For each rule, the administration should ask: Do these regulations attract capital, support innovation, reduce costs, and inject competition? For many of these regulations, the answer will be “no.”" https://lnkd.in/ekuYBc5x

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New Hub-and-Spokes post! 🚀 Capitalizing on Critical Technologies: DoD's Office of Strategic Capital and its Plan to Secure America’s Strategic Edge Three key stories shaping U.S. defense and Indo-Pacific alliances this week: 1️⃣ DoD's Office of Strategic Capital Unveils 2025 Investment Plan Focused on supporting critical technologies and national security priorities, OSC's new strategy aims to catalyze private investment in sectors crucial to America’s edge. 2️⃣ $3.6B Sale of Air-to-Air Missiles to Japan A significant step in bolstering U.S.-Japan defense cooperation with the sale of AMRAAMs, ensuring the security of U.S. personnel and regional stability. 3️⃣ NSA Jake Sullivan’s Capstone Trip to India Sullivan's visit underscores the growing U.S.-India relationship, focusing on space cooperation, nuclear collaboration, and emerging technologies. #Defense #NationalSecurity #Technology #USIndia #USJapan #Investment #StrategicAlliances https://lnkd.in/euN3a_Bb

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Defense Tech and Acquisition: Pivot or Perish Edition Many executives across Washington are 🚨 sounding the alarm 🚨 that bold change is needed to address the critical national security threats. This week Matt MacGregor and I cover top stories like: • CNAS Defense Task Force Report by Michael A. Brown, Ellen Lord, Andrew Metrick, and Robert Work • Op-eds by Robert Gates, David Petraeus and Andy Yakulis • DoD scales production of munitions • Hudson Institute panels on Defense Innovation • Army Awards Robot Contracts • Marines get new C-UAS systems by Epirus • Navy needs to shipyards • Air Force reoptimizes and disaggregates • Space Force gets more software vendors • Congress punts on a defense budget with a CR https://lnkd.in/ePag2XE8

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This article by David Rader and Elaine D. joins the chorus calling for a more coordinated and strategic use of economic statecraft. To meet the current geopolitical moment, this will also require investing in the necessary data and analytical infrastructure to support horizon scanning, decision-making, implementation, after action analysis, etc. Thanks for flagging Zach Beecher.

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Embracing uncertainty as a catalyst for growth. Change is never easy, but it’s inevitable—and it often holds the keys to our greatest opportunities. Across the federal government, we find ourselves at the cusp of a new chapter. While transitions may bring questions and challenges, they also open doors for innovation, fresh perspectives, and breaking down barriers that once seemed insurmountable. In times like these, it’s vital to approach uncertainty with a mindset of growth. Change challenges us to rethink old frameworks, adapt to new realities, and forge stronger connections across teams and organizations. Whether you're in the public or private sector, this is a moment to lean into the possibilities. Let’s ask ourselves: What new paths can we pave? What untapped ideas can we bring forward? And how can we collaborate to build something even better for the future? Transitions may test us, but they also give us the chance to lead with courage, curiosity, and a commitment to progress. What opportunities do you see on the horizon during this season of change?

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For today's Substack post, Matt and I propose an idea for driving Commercial Competition across the DoD. How can we leverage a process like Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) solution brief to enable commercial solutions to compete with current acquisition programs? Explore if there are solutions that can deliver faster, lower cost, and/or at increased performance. Interestingly, there is a Defense Acquisition Challenge Program that has been in statute for nearly 20 years that aligns with our idea. What do you think? https://lnkd.in/estDCyAU

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The most critical responsibility for BIS is protection of our national security. Most of what they do necessarily involves saying no -- which is hard when the rest of the Commerce Department is focused on creating economic opportunity. But good government is dynamic government and so the Department is always refining rules to make sure that we can both promote America's economy and protect our national security. And yesterday, that's exactly what we did - working with the National Space Council and the Office of Space Commerce, BIS released three new rules that will reduce regulatory requirements for parts of the space industry, allowing the industry to continue to grow, without sacrificing our national security.

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I’m excited to share our latest article, co-authored with Michael Gips, now featured on Police1—the leading media platform for law enforcement professionals in the Americas. The article focuses on a critical topic for both North American policing and national security recently highlighted in a report by the US Government. On October 17, the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security released an alarming “Chinese Threat Snapshot” assessment detailing the scope of Chinese Communist Party (CCP)-related espionage and transnational repression activities in the United States. With over 55 espionage cases since 2021, 200+ incidents since 2000, and a dramatic rise in apprehensions of Chinese nationals at the U.S. Southwest border in 2024, this issue is increasingly relevant to public safety on both sides of the border. How does China's growing influence impact North American law enforcement and national security? Dive into the article to learn more. #NationalSecurity #LawEnforcement #PublicSafety #ChinaThreat #Espionage #Police1 #HomelandSecurity https://lnkd.in/ePBcRhgY

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I rarely share news stories however this is an outstanding piece by Megan Eckstein at Defense News about how AUKUS plays in the discussions of US submarine fleet strength. The pathway to Australia acquiring nuclear-powered submarines from the United States has been criticized by some who only see it as reducing the fleet size of the US Navy while ignoring the huge benefit that the rest of the agreement brings - billions of dollars in investments by Australia directly into America's submarine industrial base, a regional operating facility in the Indo-Pacific, a new maintenance facility that relieves some of the burden on overworked US facilities, and another nation investing in long-lead components for critical submarine parts. Thoughtful, deliberate plans are already playing out to fully crew and operate these vessels, and construction has already broken ground on huge infrastructure improvements in Australia to make Pillar One a reality. This agreement has enormous benefit for all three parties. It's always fair to critique huge program announcements by governments, but failing to actually look at the impacts in their entirety misses the mark. https://lnkd.in/d4dcKHAU

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Would you like to play a game?   As a huge fan of complex strategic simulations such as HOI4, this article really caught my eye. In HOI4 playing R&D and acquisitions catch-up for smart and lethal integrated naval platforms later in the historical or alternative timelines is not a recipe for success. In most cases, a land/air power will often find their late game lacking in surgical firepower and maneuverability to achieve desired end-states.   In the 'game’ falling behind is usually caused due to resource limitations, poor allocations, political position/preference, and technology availability. The US probably has a fair to good historical balance/handle of those factors. However, as in the game and as the article suggests poor (or legacy) polices and plain old bad choices leads to poor acquisition outcomes in-real-life (IRL).   It’s called the military industrial complex for a reason. Good acquisitions practices, policies, governance, and relationships are key to the complex’s success. The FAR/DFAR are part of ‘policies and governance’ and were written with good intent, but do they still help programs achieve good outcomes?   I am not a back seat driver; I have experienced poor rules or more accurately poor rule interpretations and lethargy to adapt with catastrophic effect. Precious time and resources are often just lost if not for a timely intervention by a key stakeholder. Cmdr. Doug Robb and Kate Robb explain in their article good alignment and policy crafted upfront will negate some of these issues.   I have however also been lucky enough (in a previous position) to get stakeholders to think differently about key desired IT acquisitions outcomes and adjust policies accordingly. The collective will updated polices, created relationships, and helped form DON PEO Digital which was vital to enabling IT efficiencies and achieving IT results. In my current organization, we have taken some of those lessons and have strived to align IT strategies and acquisitions to meet goals with less churn.   Building advanced naval warfighting capabilities transcends the complexity (and to some degree the risk) of deploying IT and thus has more boxes to check. However, what is really telling about current acquisitions policy and choices is our inability despite great economic and industrial advantages to pivot from let’s say shooting down cheap drones with million-dollar missiles. Applying the article’s reasoning is a step in the right direction to solve some clear issues preventing desired outcomes.   In the end, the inability to smartly acquire or rapidly shift to more efficient technologies because of legacy acquisitions policies or the lack of interest to change will have long term consequences for the US. What we don’t want IRL is a future scenario where the US has 50,000 tanks and 500,000 troops sitting in a port with no ride to the party. In my opinion IRL then becomes game-over.

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Be sure to join me on November 22nd to hear about potential shifts in AI policy with the upcoming changes to the U.S. administration in 2025. I will be discussing how Government organizations can align their technology strategy with evolving policy goals and learn how to effectively prepare their agencies for changes in AI oversight, security, and consumer protection. Equip yourself with the knowledge to lead your organization confidently through these transitions Join Gartner's complimentary webinar on 11/22 to understand how these changes might impact your tech strategy in sectors like government, healthcare, and financial services. Don't miss out: https://gtnr.it/4hMiWyo Gartner for IT | #GartnerIT #AI #Governance #Policy

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