Dan Patt

Stories by Dan Patt

The Pentagon must build weapons differently to mobilize for the information age

The Pentagon must build weapons differently to mobilize for the information age
The Pentagon must build weapons differently to mobilize for the information age

Instead of stockpiling small numbers of ultra-high-performance weapons, the DoD should design missiles that can be mass produced on demand and adapt to enemy countermeasures, write Hudson Institute scholars Bryan Clark and Dan Patt.

How 5G can help defend Taiwan: Commercial parts for military systems

How 5G can help defend Taiwan: Commercial parts for military systems
How 5G can help defend Taiwan: Commercial parts for military systems

Instead of laborious decades-long development cycles that produce exquisite, expensive military-specific systems, the Pentagon needs to exploit affordable, off-the-shelf 5G technology that’s available right now, say two Hudson Institute analysts.

The Pentagon should focus JADC2 on warfighters, not service equities

The Pentagon should focus JADC2 on warfighters, not service equities
The Pentagon should focus JADC2 on warfighters, not service equities

Pentagon leaders should down-scope JADC2 around a smaller set of force compositions, focused on problems facing combatant commanders and using the forces deploying to or already in theater, argue Bryan Clark and Dan Patt.

Faster Weapon Buys: Try Evolutionary Innovation

Faster Weapon Buys: Try Evolutionary Innovation
Faster Weapon Buys: Try Evolutionary Innovation

At a time when political consensus on anything can be hard to reach, there is general agreement that the United States military must modernize to fend off a rising China and meet other national security needs. Bringing defense capability into the future usually generates thoughts of new weapons. However, much of the needed modernization must…

The US Needs A Strategy To Secure Microelectronics – Not Just Funding

The US Needs A Strategy To Secure Microelectronics – Not Just Funding
The US Needs A Strategy To Secure Microelectronics – Not Just Funding

Instead of throwing subsidies around indiscriminately, the authors argue, the US government needs to invest only in crucial new technologies while crafting policy incentives to shift industry behavior.

JADC2 May Be Built To Fight The Wrong War

JADC2 May Be Built To Fight The Wrong War
JADC2 May Be Built To Fight The Wrong War

To compete with China, DoD needs to focus on spoiling Chinese military and paramilitary success at lower levels on the escalation ladder. This is more closely aligned with maneuver warfare concepts like DARPA’s Mosaic Warfare.

Treat AI As Intelligence — Not Technology

Treat AI As Intelligence — Not Technology
Treat AI As Intelligence — Not Technology

The US military is rolling out AI-enabled projects like the Air Force’s Airborne Battle Management System or the Army’s Project Convergence. But the novelty of these demonstrations and the effort required to pull them off suggest that—unlike Silicon Valley—DoD is struggling to incorporate AI into its combat systems, aircraft, ships, and other equipment.  DoD promulgated an…

Air Force ‘Digital Century Series’ Is Stuck In The Wrong Century

Air Force ‘Digital Century Series’ Is Stuck In The Wrong Century
Air Force ‘Digital Century Series’ Is Stuck In The Wrong Century

Acquisition chief Will Roper wants to replicate the rapid-fire development of new fighter jets in the 1950s. He should focus on new drones instead.

JADC2 Needs To Change Course: More C2, Less Comms

JADC2 Needs To Change Course: More C2, Less Comms
JADC2 Needs To Change Course: More C2, Less Comms

Unless DoD puts the C2 back into JADC2, the multi-billion dollar effort meant to transform how America fights may well create the kind of brittle, centralized hierarchy the U.S. military is supposed to avoid. The U.S. military is pursuing a new concept for managing operations called Joint All-Domain Command and Control. JADC2 seeks interoperability between…