McKinsey February 22, 2024
Nontraditional sources of innovation are transforming the defense sector with powerful capabilities—but they must overcome obstacles on the path to scalable success.
In response to a new era of geopolitical uncertainty and a rapidly shifting national security environment, countries across the world are transforming their military capabilities. And, as new mission needs in this transformation take shape across multidomain operations, different tools are in demand—increasingly supplied by a range of new entrants to the defense industry.
National security customers are showing demand for technologies sourced by firms outside the traditional defense industrial base. This dynamic is not new but has materialized in three distinct waves of defense tech start-ups over the past 20 years (exhibit).
For example, in the United...
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