Unleash Maverick Innovators to Revitalize Defense

The progress of defense technology, from World War II through the Cold War and beyond, is shaped by mavericks whose disruptive approaches lead to breakthrough capabilities.

Gen. Bernard Schriever did just this when developing the intercontinental ballistic missile program in the 1950s. Starting with a team of 50 engineers, Schriever took Atlas from concept to America’s first operational ICBM at a blistering pace. Schriever would later reflect, “The people who produce progress are a breed apart. They have the imagination, the courage, and the persistence to find solutions.”

Schriever paired this talent-first mindset with approaches that favored concurrent over serial work and a focus on speed and rapid testing that dramatically compressed development timelines. He championed new models for collaboration between the military, industry, and scientific advisors that served as a basis for future complex defense efforts that helped win the Cold War.

As momentum builds for reform, we should learn from history by treating talent, agency, and merit as matters of the highest priority. This can be accomplished in several ways:

Broaden the talent base to engage a wider range of players, including venture-backed startups and nontraditional defense companies. One of us (Shyam) is leading a “First Breakfast” to overcome the legacy of the post-Cold War “Last Supper,” where DOD leadership urged the consolidation and downsizing of the defense industrial base. Similarly, The Aerospace Corporation is among many members of the industry-led Space Workforce for Tomorrow coalition to open doors to a new generation ready to shape the future. Reviving our industrial base requires fresh talent from the commercial realm. Then we need to give them the resources and authorities to get to work.

Connect expertise across domains. Bringing together teams of teams that combine warfighting domain expertise and fluency in emerging technology is critical to operating in complex, unforgiving environments from deep sea to space. This is especially true as we connect and rapidly move data across systems to reach the warfighter. Ambitious missions, like the Trump administration’s calls for a “Golden Dome” national missile defense system, demand exceptional capabilities to be exceptionally well connected. The ultimate outcome is only as strong as its weakest link, and these projects will only succeed by marshaling our nation’s best talent and technology.

Change the way we think about career progression and credentialing. The military and many partners in the defense industry are built around linear, assembly-line approaches to personnel that discourage risk taking. Innovative leaders (and their teams) must be elevated more quickly and retained in vital roles for longer periods, instead of being rotated quickly to the next billet.

Create new on-ramps into government systems. The government and its partners must embrace commercial capabilities and venture-funded business models and create contracting pathways that help navigate the infamous “valley of death.” Greater interoperability allows us to deploy cutting-edge technology where it is needed most, while opening the playing field so the best capabilities can win. The government cannot afford to be locked into a single vendor for decades while new entrants and breakthrough technologies languish.

Remove barriers that stifle creativity and innovation. Defense acquisitions are often overly prescriptive. They assume it is expensive to develop new capabilities and therefore that the military must select a handful of new concepts very early on. It’s time to broaden the aperture and allow greater competition backed by private investors rather than the taxpayer. We must focus less on process and more on people and products, freeing a new generation of mavericks to put their best work forward and see it rapidly adopted into operations.

Given the scale of the threats to our nation, we cannot expect to succeed only through the independent efforts of a few individuals. Instead, we should apply the lessons of Schriever, Boyd, Rickover, and Johnson—engaging more parts of the talent base, connecting their expertise in new ways, and removing barriers to speed and action—to create a more dynamic workforce. This is how our nation will win.

Steve Isakowitz is the President and CEO of The Aerospace Corporation

Shyam Sankar is the Chief Technology Officer and Executive Vice President of Palantir Technologies