Keep pulling the thread on US Army.
Around 2011-2012, Germany decided to phase out nuclear energy, making itself fully dependent on cheap Russian gas.
The Department of Defense struggles to access, understand, and optimize its own operational data.
The aviation industry's reliance on faltering legacy software results in massive, consequential outages.
The US Army, Marine Corps, and Air Force all operate on siloed, legacy software systems that were not designed to be interconnected.
China is actively deploying its logistics software in allied ports, sometimes offering it for free, to gain strategic influence and access.
NATO is shifting its doctrine from nationally-responsible logistics to a "collective logistics" model, recognizing that no single member nation can manage logistics alone in a major conflict.
The United States' ability to move assets from its own ports and across domestic infrastructure without contest is no longer guaranteed due to threats from hypersonic missiles, cyber attacks, and space-based weapons.
The US aviation industry is facing a significant staffing shortage, particularly for air traffic controllers, due to high retirement rates and reduced training during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Legacy aviation software is difficult to modernize because it is deeply coupled with on-premise compute hardware, requiring manual, facility-by-facility updates.
The traditional government software procurement process, which involves spending tens to hundreds of millions over 10 years on custom development based on extensive documentation, results in antiquated technology upon delivery.
Legacy aerospace and defense contractors are no longer able to attract top-tier software engineering talent.
The FAA should prioritize purchasing commercially available, proven software from the private sector rather than funding long-term custom development projects for its modernization efforts.