Resilience

The US military is quietly reviving airfields first carved out of jungle and coral during World War 2 to counter potential threats from China. The effort, driven by the Agile Combat Employment doctrine, aims to create a network of smaller, far-flung locations where US aircraft can operate from, reducing vulnerability in a war defined by long-range precision weapons.

Breaking Defense spoke with Tim Grayson, vice president and general manager, and Leonard Lublin, deputy vice president and general manager for BAE Systems' FAST Labs, to learn more about their approach to R&D. The company is addressing the need for new technologies to counter adversaries by accelerating innovation through collaboration between scientists and businesses.