{"id":19501,"date":"2020-09-16T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-09-16T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/uncategorized\/2020\/09\/16\/coronavirus-has-kept-us-close-to-home-its-a-helpful-lesson-for-strengthening-national-defense\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T22:13:13","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T22:13:13","slug":"coronavirus-has-kept-us-close-to-home-its-a-helpful-lesson-for-strengthening-national-defense","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/opinion\/2020\/09\/16\/coronavirus-has-kept-us-close-to-home-its-a-helpful-lesson-for-strengthening-national-defense\/","title":{"rendered":"Coronavirus has kept us close to home. It\u2019s a helpful lesson for strengthening national defense."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Despite being warned, with impressive precision, about the dangers of so-called black swan events, America tends to ignore or downplay them because they seem remote, or the perceived financial, societal and political costs are too great. In the aftermath of 9\/11, of Hurricane Katrina and other major domestic tragedies, we too often learn that our relevant capabilities have atrophied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, following perhaps the most devastating such event \u2014 the COVID-19 pandemic<\/a> \u2014 the defense industrial base is actively seeking billions of dollars to prop it up without necessarily committing to making step-function leaps forward in a highly complex threat environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And while keeping the thousands of small companies that support the defense primes alive is important<\/a>, the Pentagon \u2014 flush with cash and a mandate to act quickly to react to the pandemic \u2014 should use this opportunity to refine its technology acquisition approach, in part by doing more to engage nontraditional defense firms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The reasons for bringing in new ideas for defense are clear. Just last week, the Department of Defense released its annual report<\/a> to Congress on China, which states that \u201cChina has already achieved parity<\/a> with \u2014 or even exceeded \u2014 the United States in several military modernization areas.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even more concerning, DoD analysts describe China\u2019s military-civil fusion development strategy as \u201ca nationwide endeavor that seeks to \u2018fuse\u2019 its economic and social development strategies with its security strategies to build an integrated national strategic system and capabilities in support of China\u2019s national rejuvenation goals.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t