Good points. The defence sector simply can’t afford to fund every “good idea”. Especially every idea, once selected, that leads to multi-decade and multi-bill

Good points. The defence sector simply can’t afford to fund every “good idea”. Especially every idea, once selected, that leads to multi-decade and multi-billion(trillion in case of F35) lock in. My thoughts, and hands on experience with military innovation, is focused on the bottom end. Both in terms of “user” rank and budget for prototype capability. I genuinely applaud those in the civilian tech sector who vote with their feet on moral/ethical perceptions. However, it doesn’t hurt to understand history. Both the early generations of Silicon Valley and tech sector history as well as the last generation(dot.com bubble). Money is flowing now, but all bubbles pop. Especially Saudi oil money(40 years ago it was the soon to be deposed Iranian Shah’s money propping up Grumman and others). When money gets tight, moral/ethical protest becomes less affordable. I put my time where my mouth is and try to teach young serving members of the military how to innovate themselves(at least an introduction to it), rather than paying contractors to do it for them. I can assure you the projects we’ve been working on have all been quite practical and ethical to work on. One concept I push is “Its always H-Hour” stolen from my old employer Amazon “It’s still Day 1”. Creating a sustainable sense of urgency and bias for action, but with an emphasis on resource austerity. We don’t have a Manhattan Project budget. We sometimes borrow things temporarily. The Indian austere innovation concept of Jugaad comes to mind. Personally, I think the answer is a mashup of H4D using a StartUp Weekend-like intro, Jugaad like resource austerity, and a YC like innovation community and pipeline. And perhaps something on the high end akin to the Israeli Talpiot Program. I sincerely hope those ethically opposed to working on defence projects can continue to afford to do so. As that will mean the tech sector is still awash with opportunity anD cash which will help nudge defence towards conducting more internal adaptation of commercial tech instead of relying on civilian contractors. I’d certainly prefer we don’t see another peer or near peer level major global conflict. But conflict seems eternally intertwined with the human condition. At least for now.