Greg Little

Palantir executive focused on modernizing the military and industrial base with AI and software.

Claims

As speaker

Mentioned in

Key positions and views

The U.S. is critically lagging behind China in essential military-industrial areas, particularly shipbuilding and the supply of rare earth minerals, creating an urgent national security threat.

The legacy U.S. defense industrial base, consolidated after the Cold War, is sclerotic and inefficient, necessitating a fundamental shift towards adopting commercial software and agile development.

Software and AI are the primary levers for the U.S. to regain its competitive edge, not just in advanced systems but in revitalizing traditional manufacturing, logistics, and financial management.

Palantir's platforms are positioned as the essential operating system for this national revitalization, enabling efficiencies in both government and commercial sectors.

A new wave of private capital is disrupting the defense sector, creating a more dynamic ecosystem where agile tech companies can out-innovate the traditional prime contractor model.

Podcast consensus on Little

Points of consensus

▶The United States is falling significantly behind China in critical industrial and military production, particularly in shipbuilding, where China's capacity is claimed to be 200 times greater.Apr 2026

▶The U.S. defense procurement system is fundamentally broken, characterized by extreme delays (11 years from requirement to deployment), a focus on cost over value, and systemic inefficiency, as evidenced by eight consecutive failed financial audits.Apr 2026

▶Software and AI are the primary solutions to revitalize the U.S. industrial base and enhance military capability, with Palantir's platforms serving as a key enabler for everything from manufacturing to financial management.Apr 2026

▶A major economic shift is underway in the defense sector, marked by an unprecedented influx of private capital ($150 billion in three years) that is fueling new, agile technology companies to challenge the legacy prime contractors.Apr 2026

Points of debate

▶Little highlights a tension between the U.S.'s leadership in software and AI and its simultaneous decay in physical manufacturing and construction capabilities.

▶He points to a contradiction in modern warfare, noting that while advanced AI is crucial, the outcome of the Russia-Ukraine war is still primarily determined by the sheer quantity of traditional military hardware.Apr 2026

▶A conflict exists between the official advisory role of Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs) and their actual practice of building products, which puts them in direct competition with the private industry they are meant to support.Apr 2026

▶There is a disconnect between the Department of Defense's massive budget, including $1.8 billion for AI, and its inability to pass a financial audit or efficiently translate spending into deployed capabilities.Apr 2026

Key themes

▶The US-China Industrial-Military ImbalanceApr 2026

Little paints a stark picture of American industrial decline relative to China, emphasizing a critical deficit in military hardware production. He quantifies this with claims that China outproduces the U.S. in shipbuilding by a ratio of 200-to-1 and has a larger navy (370 warships to 290), alongside a dependency on China for rare earth minerals.

This narrative frames the geopolitical landscape as an urgent industrial race, suggesting that investment in domestic manufacturing, supply chain resilience, and the software that optimizes them is a matter of national security.

▶Sclerosis of the US Defense Industrial BaseApr 2026

Little argues that the post-Cold War consolidation of the defense industry into five prime contractors has created a slow, inefficient, and risk-averse system. He cites the DoD's eight consecutive failed audits and an 11-year average for deploying new capabilities as direct evidence of this systemic dysfunction.

This critique positions agile, software-first companies like Palantir as necessary disruptors, creating a market opportunity for firms that can bypass traditional procurement bottlenecks and deliver value more rapidly.

▶Software as the Engine of Industrial Renewal

Little consistently positions software and AI as the primary solution to America's industrial and military challenges. He provides specific examples of Palantir's technology being used to upskill manufacturing workforces (Panasonic), improve military targeting (Maven Smart System), and enable the production of autonomous vessels (SailDrone).

Little's perspective implies that the most strategic investments are not just in hardware itself, but in the underlying operating systems that accelerate the design, manufacturing, and deployment of that hardware.

▶The New Defense EconomyApr 2026

Little highlights a significant market shift, characterized by a massive influx of private capital ($150 billion in three years) and the emergence of new tech companies in the defense space. This new ecosystem, he suggests, is challenging the oligopoly of the traditional prime contractors.

The defense sector is portrayed as evolving from a closed government market to a more dynamic, venture-backed ecosystem, requiring analysts to track VC flows and software partnerships to understand future industry leaders.

Source episodes

Timeline

1993

Cites the "Last Supper" meeting hosted by Secretary of Defense Les Aspin, which he identifies as the catalyst for the mass consolidation of the U.S. defense industrial base from 51 to five prime contractors, setting the stage for current inefficiencies.

Post-Cold War

References the 67% reduction in the U.S. Department of Defense budget following the Cold War, a foundational event that shaped the modern, consolidated defense industry.

Last 10 Years

Highlights that the Department of Defense has failed its financial audit for eight consecutive years within this period, underscoring a long-term problem with financial accountability and management.

Last 3 Years

Identifies a recent, dramatic shift in the defense market, with an influx of $150 billion in private capital, an amount equal to the total investment over the previous ten years.

Present Day

Describes the current moment as a critical juncture where the U.S. faces a severe manufacturing and military hardware deficit compared to China, which he argues must be addressed with software, AI, and a revitalized industrial base.

Suggested prompts

How does Greg Little's vision for a software-led industrial revitalization reconcile with his claim that the Ukraine war is primarily determined by hardware quantity? &nearr;What are the primary risks to Palantir's strategy of embedding itself as the core operating system for both government and commercial manufacturing clients? &nearr;Beyond the statistics provided by Little, what external data validates or contradicts his assessment of the U.S.-China shipbuilding and naval gap? &nearr;If, as Little claims, FFRDCs are overstepping their advisory role, what are the policy implications for government R&D and its relationship with private industry? &nearr;

Key concepts

US-China Competition 1 ep Defense Industrial Base 1 ep Palantir Technology & Use Cases 1 ep US Government & DoD Inefficiency 1 ep Defense Market & Investment 1 ep AI in Defense & Manufacturing 1 ep Maritime & Shipbuilding 1 ep Supply Chain Dependency 1 ep Russia-Ukraine War 1 ep

Notable quotes

“We're getting destroyed by China in shipbuilding. They can out produce us 200 to one.”

Greg Little · How Palantir Is Modernizing the Military With AI

“The United States is at immense risk due to its dependency on Taiwan for semiconductor chips.”

Greg Little · How Palantir Is Modernizing the Military With AI

“almost $150 billion has been invested in defense over the last three years. That's as much as the previous 10 years.”

Greg Little · How Palantir Is Modernizing the Military With AI

“the department has failed an audit eight years in a row.”

Greg Little · How Palantir Is Modernizing the Military With AI

Report last updated: Apr 28, 2026

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