Ukraine’s military tech ingenuity sparks US defense debate in Congress

The ability of Ukraine to quickly adapt to the challenges of modern warfare has raised questions about the US Army and its capability to do so as well.

Sep 19, 2024 - 18:00

Ukraine’s military tech ingenuity sparks US defense debate in Congress

drone coalition ukraine expands 16 members czech addition ukrainian soldier squad fpv drones illustrative ukraine's general staff

Ukraine, which faces an existential threat, is innovating in military technology and concepts at a rate far faster than the US government, according to participants in a congressional hearing.

As the United States faces evolving global threats and a rapidly changing technological landscape, the agility and innovation demonstrated by Ukraine offer critical lessons for US defense. The US military’s slow adoption of new technologies could put it at a disadvantage against more nimble adversaries. The stark contrast between Ukraine’s rapid battlefield innovations and the Pentagon’s bureaucratic processes underscores an urgent need for reform in US defense procurement, research, and development.

As reported by the Voice of America, chairman of the National Defense Strategy Commission Jane Harman noted the need to stimulate innovation and new technologies that would take less time and resources to implement than they currently do. She also noted the speed with which new technologies are being implemented on the battlefield in Ukraine.

“We need to stimulate change. Ukraine and Russia are innovating on the battlefield and it takes weeks, not years,” Harman said.

”I was in Kyiv last week, and before that in April, and I saw it with my own eyes. If the Ministry of Defense cannot move at the same speed and scale, it will lose. This committee should help the head of the Defense Ministry and his deputy to solve this problem,” Harman urged.

The report with recommendations states that the National Defense Strategy Commission considers some practices in procurement research and development, as well as an excessive risk-avoidance culture, outdated for the modern strategic environment.

Examples of rapid change and industrial involvement, such as in the case of the Space Force, the Defense Innovation Unit, and the Strategic Capital Management Office, remain the exception rather than the rule, the report says.

“We can’t continue to fund things that have been shown to be of no value as new software. We just have to ask what Ukraine can teach us. Ukraine can teach us this, in particular, because you can build a drone for $350. My comment on this is that you can’t buy a cup of coffee in the Pentagon for $350, and we are talking about our future,” says the head of the National Defense Strategy Commission.

Harman emphasizes that some of the Pentagon’s current programs, which are focused purely on equipment, should be replaced with others that make greater use of modern technology and software.

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