The United States used to lead the world. But thanks to past administrations, we’ve fallen behind.
Now the Pentagon just confessed America’s greatest weakness.
Experts Slam Pentagon’s “Outdated” Approach to Military Innovation, Urge Urgent Overhaul
America’s military is falling behind its adversaries, and the blame lies squarely with the Pentagon’s slow, bureaucratic approach to modernization, national security experts warned at a recent security summit.
The Pentagon’s failure to keep pace with technological advances earned it a dismal “D” grade from the National Security Innovation Base Summit—an assessment that even national security leaders in Congress agreed was accurate.
“Progress lives in the private sector, and we’re not seeing enough progress in the public sector,” said Govini CEO Tara Murphy Dougherty. “The department needs a massive kick in the pants in this area and should be held accountable for catching up in progress to match what is happening among the investor community and among the technology sector.”
House Armed Services Committee Vice Chair Rob Wittman didn’t mince words when reacting to the Pentagon’s poor performance.
“I think the score is a deserved score, unfortunately,” Wittman admitted.
He compared the Pentagon’s outdated processes to a bygone era of manufacturing.
“The Pentagon is the Ford Motor Company of the 1950s. I mean, the way they operate—slow, stoic,” Wittman explained. “‘Let’s spend years to write a requirement, then let’s spend years to go to a program or record, let’s spend years to acquire.’ By the time we acquire something, guess what? The threat’s way ahead of us.”
His solution? “We want them to reflect the Apple 2025 model.”
Shipbuilding Woes Underscore a Larger Problem
The consequences of this slow-moving bureaucracy are most evident in America’s shrinking naval power. While the Navy currently operates with 295 deployable ships, plans to expand the fleet to 390 aren’t projected to materialize until 2054. Meanwhile, the Maritime Security Program, which maintains privately-owned, military-useful ships for wartime deployment, is down to a mere 60 vessels.
“It’s precipitously low. We could not get to where we need to be in the Pacific right now if we needed to,” Wittman warned, underscoring concerns about America’s ability to project power in key regions.
Even President Donald Trump has taken a personal interest in the issue.
John Phelan, Trump’s nominee for Navy secretary, revealed that the president frequently checks in—sometimes at odd hours—to press for action.
“Sometimes after 1 a.m.,” Phelan said during his confirmation hearing, “[Trump is] asking me, what am I doing about it?”
Phelan said he reassured the president, “I’m not confirmed yet and have not been able to do anything about it, but I will be very focused on it.”
Trump has made it clear he intends to revitalize America’s shipbuilding capabilities.
“We used to make so many ships,” Trump remarked during a speech to Congress on Tuesday. “We don’t make them anymore very much, but we’re going to make them very fast, very soon. It will have a huge impact.”
He also announced the creation of a White House Office of Shipbuilding to accelerate progress.
Stuck in the Past While Adversaries Surge Ahead
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle agree that the Pentagon’s sluggishness is jeopardizing national security.
“We’re operating off of an innovation cycle right now that, you know, used to be a decade, and it used to be five years. Then it used to be three years, and now it’s a year or less innovation cycle,” said Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo. “In Ukraine, they’re actually operating off of week-long innovation cycles.”
Crow said the responsibility falls on Congress to light a fire under the Pentagon.
“There are simply no demand signals being sent. So that requires a very real conversation about political will, which is actually bipartisan right now on this issue,” he added.
The Pentagon’s handling of the F-35 fighter jet is a glaring example of the problem. After 25 years in development, the aircraft is “just now getting into full-scale production,” according to Wittman.
“The capability of that aircraft, the modernization that it needs to keep up with the Chinese threat, it’s just not where it has to be,” he said.
Worse still, even the latest F-35s rolling off the assembly line need to be sent back for critical upgrades, including advanced motion sensors and radar systems.
“We’re still not going to deliver the current jets coming off the line with technical refresh three hardware and have that software enabled until probably early next year,” Wittman added.
Cybersecurity: America’s Achilles’ Heel?
Beyond physical hardware, lawmakers are deeply worried about America’s vulnerabilities in cyberspace—especially when it comes to facing off against China.
“China specifically is better at cybersecurity than we are,” warned Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, D-Pa. “It only takes one or two incursions that we don’t see coming or that we aren’t responsive to, to make an enormous difference here.”
Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., argued that the U.S. should start thinking about more aggressive cyber tactics to push back against foreign threats.
“When it comes to cyber, we’ve got to change the rules of engagement,” Bacon insisted.
He laid out just how pervasive China’s cyber intrusions have become.
“China is eating our boxed lunch in the energy area, in our cellular phone infrastructure, they’re trying to get into Wall Street, they’re trying to get into agriculture,” he said.
According to Bacon, America needs to stop taking punches and start punching back.
“We’re really good on cyberintelligence, but we have [rules of engagement] that do not let us do nearly what China or Russia does,” he argued. “I don’t think it’s like taking punches to the face, saying ‘can I have another.’”
His message to the Pentagon and policymakers? It’s time to fight fire with fire.
“We’ve got to be able to allow cyber command to fight fire with fire. I wouldn’t even advertise it that much. Just carry a big stick and, get them back,” Bacon said.
A Long Road Ahead
In response to mounting criticism, the Pentagon has launched a review of its contracting procedures under a new DOGE memo.
“Each Agency Head, in consultation with the agency’s DOGE Team Lead, shall conduct a comprehensive review of each agency’s contracting policies, procedures, and personnel,” the memo circulated this week stated.
But with adversaries like China rapidly advancing and the Pentagon still moving at a glacial pace, lawmakers are making one thing clear: Time is running out.
