Pentagon losing cutting edge on weapons innovation, needs 'massive kick in the pants,' say defense leaders
America’s defenses will not be able to keep up with its peer adversaries if the Pentagon continues to take years to innovate its weapons systems, experts agreed at a security summit last week.
The Pentagon’s modernization was given a "D" by the National Security Innovation Base Summit this week, a near-failing letter grade that national security leaders in Congress agreed was a fair assessment.
"Progress lives in the private sector, and we're not seeing enough progress in the public sector," said Govini CEO Tara Dougherty. "The department needs a massive kick in the pants in this area, and should be held accountable for catching up in progress to match what is happening among the investor community and among the technology sector."
"I think the score is a deserved score, unfortunately," House Armed Services Committee Vice Chair Rob Wittman said.