Thread by @hermeuscorp

Last weekend Hermeus participated in the @ReaganInstitute’s Reagan National Defense Forum #RNDF
 
As a company developing dual-use hypersonic aircraft it was an honor to join this dynamic conversation among senior civilian and uniformed leaders, members of Congress, and industry.

Here are some impressions:
 
As the challenge posed by China intensifies, DoD is more serious than ever about working with startups. At #RNDF, DoD leaders – starting with @SecDef Austin – recognized the need to “create a true innovation ecosystem.”

SECDEF’s comment echoed the recently released National Defense Strategy, which commits DoD to leverage “asymmetric American advantages” including its “entrepreneurial spirit” and “unparalleled creativity, innovation and adaptation”

But translating this vision into reality is hard. As @DoDCTO Heidi Shyu noted, “In the race against China we hand cuff ourselves in terms of processes, rules and regulations…”

So how can DoD partner more effectively with startups? It comes down to picking winners, a point Chief of Staff of the Air Force @GenCQBrownJr made at both this and last year’s #RNDF

Giving startups access to recurring revenue is transformative. It enables them to raise the level of private capital needed to rapidly deliver new capabilities to the military at scale.

The stakes are high. As our CEO @AJ_Piplica recently observed in @AviationWeek, the “Pentagon and startups must come together now to deliver modern capabilities on relevant timelines…If this partnership fails, the U.S. loses.”
 
Read the op-ed here: tinyurl.com/2utdx72f