At\u00a0Defense News\u2019 Annual conference<\/a>\u00a0on September 4th, the Honorable Christine E. Wormuth, Secretary of the Army, stressed the importance of investments in unmanned aerial systems (UAS), counter-unmanned aerial systems (C-UAS) and electronic warfare. The emergence of UAS, C-UAS and electronic warfare in recent years is no fluke; the attributable, cost-effective nature of drones has enabled smaller countries like\u00a0Ukraine<\/a>\u00a0to defend their territories against larger territorial aggressors like Russia. In the Middle East, radars are helping the Israeli Defense Forces\u00a0defend against<\/a>\u00a0inbound missiles that could pose a threat to the health and safety of its people.<\/p>\n Both wars have made it apparent that the nature of warfare is changing. U.S. adversaries use novel, inexpensive commercial capabilities to challenge and stress test existing U.S. capabilities. Defending and deterring at scale will require further investment in leading-edge capabilities that enable our Armed Forces to achieve overmatch advantage.<\/p>\n \u201cThreats are changing rapidly,\u201d said Leonardo DRS\u2019 Chief Operating Officer, John Baylouny. \u201cWe would all like a silver bullet that could bring down any threat, but that\u2019s not a reality. We must continuously adapt our capabilities and address threats as they evolve.\u201d<\/p>\n Whether that looks like fielding high-powered energy lasers or kinetic weapon systems, the future of force protection relies on outpacing threats.<\/p>\n \u201cWe try to move as fast as we can and show our customers what\u2019s possible,\u201d Baylouny said. \u201cFor example, on the\u00a0M-LIDS program<\/a>, we were tasked to provide a two-vehicle solution but realized that we could improve the system, so we invested to consolidate those capabilities onto a single Stryker platform, increasing mobility, adaptability and survivability, and we were able to test a mission-ready system within a year.\u201d<\/p>\n Agile delivery across the defense industrial base (DIB), academia and the Department of Defense will be crucial to meeting tomorrow\u2019s threats and saving lives. However, traditional development cycles are out of sync with the future of warfare. DIB leaders must move faster, but how?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \u201cWhat we do is look at our products, our technologies, and see where we may have a gap, capabilities-wise. To fill those gaps, we look outside and partner with peer companies to bring best-of-breed capabilities to our warfighters as quickly as possible,\u201d Baylouny explained. \u201cWe\u2019re not shy about saying they\u2019ve got a capability that we don\u2019t. We\u2019ll bring it into our system and integrate it and this enables us to bring that best-of-breed system as quickly as possible in order to save lives. This is how we were able to push out the M-Shorad<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0M-LIDS program<\/a>; we created a coalition of partners.\u201d<\/p>\n By establishing alliances, looking at emerging threats and leveraging cutting-edge technologies, the DIB can modernize traditional development lifecycles. As other organizations look to sync existing capabilities with the future of warfare, Leonardo DRS is already building future-forward systems. The company is investing in electronic warfare, directed energy and other modalities designed to enhance advanced sensemaking on the battlefield, so that when the U.S. Army is under attack, individual warfighters will be able to sense, make sense and adapt to the challenge at hand.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n