The Pentagon’s Billion-Dollar Bet on America’s Defense Supply Chain

The Pentagon is seeing growing demand for advanced nuclear technologies, and Mike Smith, Nuclear Portfolio Lead for Operational Energy Innovation at the Pentagon, says the conversation around nuclear power looks dramatically different than it did just two years ago. During an interview on Fed Gov Today, Smith discusses how military interest in nuclear microreactors is creating new opportunities for research, development and investment.

As military leaders look for ways to accelerate modernization, Autumn Sand, Managing Director and Defense Portfolio Lead at Accenture Federal Services, says commercial innovation can help the armed forces deliver capabilities at the speed their missions demand. During an interview on Fed Gov Today, Sand explains how the commercial sector's experience with competition, emerging technologies and rapid decision-making can support military readiness.

The Navy is accelerating its efforts to use artificial intelligence and data across the fleet, but Barry Tanner, Chief Information Officer at the Navy, says the real measure of success is how quickly the service can turn information into action. During an interview on Fed Gov Today, Tanner discusses the Navy's strategy to weaponize data and artificial intelligence, a plan focused on helping sailors and Marines learn, adapt and respond faster than their adversaries.

The nature of criminal investigations is changing dramatically. Where investigators once rely primarily on witness interviews, photographs and traditional evidence collection, today's cases involve enormous volumes of digital information that demand new tools, specialized expertise and faster analysis. For Joshua Flowers, Executive Assistant Director of Operational Technology and Cyber Innovation at NCIS, this transformation represents both a challenge and an opportunity.

The U.S. Navy wants to build more ships, deliver them faster and strengthen its industrial base. But achieving those goals requires more than new contracts and construction strategies. It demands a fundamental change in how the service plans, designs and executes its shipbuilding programs. Shelby Oakley, director of contracting and national security acquisitions at the Government Accountability Office (GAO), says the Navy is taking a closer look at its longstanding acquisition practices after...