Different sides in a war would benefit greatly from the tech advancements that are being developed today. Although many startups have ideas that could change the trajectory of the conflicts, they have expressed their struggles in acquiring grants from the Pentagon.
Startups Offer New Solutions
The Department of Defense (DoD) already has contracts with established companies when it comes to weapons systems, but there are startups that actually offer new technology that is yet to be used and only cost a fraction of the price of the Pentagon's usual contractors.
Regardless of their innovative offers, the tech firms based in the US expressed that the DoD has been too slow with their procurement of new tech, especially when it comes to fledgling companies. Some say that it has something to do with all the red tape as well.
Former secretary of the Air Force, Deborah Lee James stated that they sometimes have too much bureaucracy, further stating that there are too many checkers, as well as those checking the checkers, according to The New York Times.
There are several examples that provide insightful and potentially significant inventions such as HawkEye 360, a firm based in Virginia that can detect enemy troop concentrations through its satellites, which detect radio waves created by communication devices.
Another would be the Utah-based aerospace startup, Fortem Technologies. The company is offering the Pentagon a supply of unmanned aircraft that is able to disable enemy drones, which not only contributes to national security but avoids risking lives as well.
Capella Space, a startup based in San Francisco is already building small and inexpensive satellites that can track enemy troops. Impressively, the tech can still do it even at night or if the enemies are under cloud cover, as reports say.
As useful as it sounds, the short-term contracts and small grants may not be enough, which causes startups to be subjected to delays and be forced to conduct layoffs. Some even wait too long they their funds completely run out and they are forced to shut down operations.
It helps that the military techs previously mentioned are already being used in Ukraine in the ongoing war. Ukrainian government officials praised the innovations, which have encouraged investors to look into the tech and maybe even invest.
The Reluctance of the DoD
Capella Space founder and CEO, Payam Banazadeh stated that the buyers at Pentagon are trained to often say no. Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, Heidi Shyu said that small companies can't just wait two to three years "until our contract hets in place."
It may have something to do with the Defense Logistics Agency of the Pentagon mistakenly awarding a 10-year contract to Atlantic Diving Supply, Inc., an equipment supplier. The contract was worth $33 billion dollars, but the issue lies with the terms of the bid.
Only small businesses were allowed to throw their hat in the ring, and yet Atlantic Diving Supply, Inc. was the 24th largest federal contractor in the fiscal year 2019 with over $3 billion in sales, as mentioned in POGO, which means it was not a small business at all.
