Will Military Tech Firms Spark a Revolution in American Defense?
Key takeaways
- Aerospace & Defense Will Military Tech Firms Spark a Revolution in American Defense?By William Hartung,
- The essay on rebooting the arsenal of democracy suggests that America is at an historic turning point in how it provides for its defense:
- “Since World War II, America and its allies lead in military technology has been the pivotal factor in preventing World War III.
Aerospace & Defense Will Military Tech Firms Spark a Revolution in American Defense?By William Hartung,
Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. I am a defense analyst, and cover the economics of Pentagon spending.Follow Author May 24, 2026, 05:19am EDT--:-- / --:--This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.This photograph shows the Anduril logo on display during the 55th edition of the International Paris Air Show (Salon international de l'aeronautique et de l'espace - SIAE) at the ParisLe Bourget Airport, in Le Bourget, north of Paris on June 19, 2025. (Photo by Thibaud MORITZ / AFP) (Photo by THIBAUD MORITZ/AFP via Getty Images)AFP via Getty ImagesFor the first time since the merger boom of the 1990s, there is a possibility of injecting genuine competition into the arms industry. Military tech firms like Palantir, Space-X, and Anduril are giving old guard corporate behemoths like Lockheed Martin and RTX ( formerly known as Raytheon) a run for their money, applying new technology and new business models to weapons development.
The rise of the tech sector has been fast and furious over the past decade, with contracts for communications, targeting, surveillance, information processing and pilotless vehicles going to emerging tech firms rather than the usual suspects.