Defense tech is booming. But we're still missing the basics

"Top talent, ambitious founders, and serious capital are flooding into a mission that matters, delivering products and solutions that will send us to the moon, deploy unimaginably capable unmanned aerial devices, and redefine what's possible in modern warfare. It's an exciting moment-one full of possibility and potential. But here's the problem: while everyone is focused on the moonshots, we're overlooking the foundation."

"The barrier to entry? It's not paperwork-it's people Government go-to-market is notoriously hard. Requests for Proposals (RFPs), Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS), Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP)-these acronyms form their own labyrinth, sidelining products and burning through runway. But the real barrier isn't the bureaucratic maze. It's the human one. Success in this space requires identifying, cultivating, and maintaining relationships with every critical stakeholder group throughout a program's lifecycle."

America's defense technology sector is experiencing rapid expansion with top talent, ambitious founders, and significant capital focused on high-impact programs like lunar missions and advanced unmanned aerial systems. Foundational, less glamorous gaps remain unaddressed and could create dangerous vulnerabilities beneath ambitious programs. Government procurement processes include RFPs, FAR, DFARS, and FedRAMP, but the primary barrier to entry is human: stakeholder relationships, differing agency cultures, and personnel churn. Role rotations, administrative changes, and shifting priorities force continuous relationship rebuilding. Closing these human and structural gaps is essential to achieve resilience alongside large technological bets.

Read at Fast Company