Innovation: The Urgent Imperative for Lethality and Strategic Deterrence in DoD Acquisitions

Mike Baumgartner, Sr. Space Operations Strategist at Acuity Innovations LLC

Innovation: The Urgent Imperative for Lethality and Strategic Deterrence in DoD Acquisitions

Defining Innovation

Innovation is not just the pursuit of new technology—it is a mission-critical imperative that accelerates the development and deployment of lethal capabilities, ensuring strategic deterrence through overwhelming force and operational dominance. It is the ability to rapidly conceptualize, integrate, and field disruptive solutions that decisively outmatch adversaries, forcing them to recognize that any challenge to U.S. military superiority would result in catastrophic failure.

Why Innovation is a Matter of National Security

1. Lethality as the Cornerstone of Deterrence – The only true deterrent is the undeniable capability to destroy an adversary's ability to fight before they act. Innovation must be laser-focused on delivering faster, more precise, and more devastating combat power.

2. Accelerating Capabilities for Immediate Impact – Traditional acquisition models are a bottleneck, allowing threats to evolve faster than solutions. We must innovate at the speed of relevance—shortening development cycles and fielding game-changing capabilities without bureaucratic delay.

3. Overmatch Through Disruptive Technologies – Near-peer adversaries are investing aggressively in Artificial Intelligence (AI), hypersonics, quantum, and autonomous warfare. The U.S. must lead, not follow, by integrating AI-driven decision dominance, automated kill chains, and resilient warfighting networks that function in highly contested environments.

4. Cyber and Digital Superiority as a Force Multiplier – Modern warfare will be decided in milliseconds. Data-centric, AI-powered, and cyber-resilient architectures must underpin every warfighting domain, ensuring that U.S. forces act faster, smarter, and with absolute precision in any scenario.

5. Defense by Design: Resilience and Adaptability – Innovation must not only be about new weapons but about ensuring our systems, networks, and warfighters remain agile, survivable, and combat-effective in an era of asymmetric and hybrid threats.

Acuity Innovations LLC: Driving Innovation for Real Digital Transformation

• Mission-Driven Innovation: Every advancement must be judged by how it accelerates lethality and strengthens deterrence—no technology for technology’s sake.

• Breaking Bureaucratic Bottlenecks: Agile acquisition and rapid iteration must replace slow, risk-averse processes that delay operational capabilities.

• Strategic Technological Superiority: AI, automation, and digital transformation must be weapons of war, not just tools—integrated seamlessly to enable decision dominance and rapid, decisive action.

The DoD no longer has the luxury of time. Innovation is not an option—it is a necessity for survival in a world where deterrence is only as strong as the lethality we can unleash at a moment’s notice.