Global Defense Technology

The timeless quest for national competitive advantage has accelerated with globalization. During the Cold War, the United States and the U.S.S.R. fought an ideological and a military race, but never one over consumer products: No American was interested in buying a Soviet toaster.

Now, the lines are blurred; countries are fighting across their entire economies and every domain of warfare for advantage. Technological supremacy in consumer and enterprise products feeds directly into the great power race for air, land, sea, space, and cyber.

In the defense industry, everything comes down to strategy and you simply can’t build an effective strategy without information. The Internet of Things (IoT) is one of the technology innovations the industry can leverage, where split-second decisions could have dire consequences. As in other industries, the term is personalized for the industry, sometimes referred to as the Internet of Military Things or the Internet of Battlefield Things. Augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) are perfect examples of technologies that have made their way from commercial use to the military. Gaming may be the ultimate association with AR/VR, but it’s an excellent fit for an industry that requires a lot of training and simulations.

The defense sector is the backbone of any nation. It is the shield of the country, encountering and battling against its potential threat and enmity. The companies involved in the defense activities’ sole purpose is to enhance the sector with cutting-edge technologies, provide power to the prime strength of the land.

The defense industry is often lauded as the originator of innovations that increase the capabilities and lethality of the modern warfighter. Technological superiority on the battlefield gives every nation’s servicemen and women the necessary advantage to take on and win against any foe. These technologies, however, are often not considered outside the defense ecosystem. Civilians are unaware of these advances and the defense industry’s reputation is not commonly tied to innovation. Members of the defense industrial base and those that advocate its importance must make a more directed effort at changing the industry’s perception and more clearly communicate its role in developing and deploying new technologies.

The aerospace and defense industry faces a unique set of circumstances. Passenger expectations are changing fast. Defense budgets remain strong. And new markets are opening, including commercial space and new forms of urban air mobility.

So there are rich opportunities out there. To capitalize on them, aerospace and defense companies are reinventing their businesses and actively shaping their future from the ground up. They’re transforming even faster than organizations in other industries.