Lockheed Martin Chairman, President and CEO Testifies on Accelerating Innovation Before House Committee

Lockheed Martin President and CEO James Taiclet testified before the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Cyber, Information Technologies and Innovation in a hearing Sept. 20, 2023, entitled “Industry Perspectives on Defense Innovation and Deterrence.” During his testimony, Taiclet emphasized the importance of 21st Century Security, an initiative that harnesses digital technologies like 5G, AI and distributed cloud computing into the national defense enterprise to deliver more advanced capabilities faster and with greater value for integrated deterrence. 

“Broad adoption of 21st Century Security will bring much needed improvement to the industry,” Taiclet said. “Civil and military leaders agree the United States is facing increasingly aggressive peer threats, perennial budget constraints, and an acceleration of commercially driven technology, all of which call for new approaches to acquisition and military operations. Together – the Department of Defense, Congress, the defense industry, and the commercial technology sector – can push the boundaries of innovation, technology and interoperability in ways our adversaries cannot match, with the ultimate goal of deterring great power conflict.”

Taiclet highlighted many cutting-edge accomplishments from across the Lockheed Martin’s business.  He advocated three key priorities:

1. Applying the concept of anti-fragility to increase industry’s ability to quickly ramp production of key systems in an ever-evolving global security landscape;  
2. Aggressively accelerating the adoption and insertion of 21st century digital technologies through a standards-based, modular open architecture approach that allows the U.S., international allies, defense primes, suppliers, and start-ups alike to work from the same framework allowing greater interoperability across all of our armed services; and   
3. Increasing collaboration with allies and partners, including the establishment of key production and sustainment facilities in our most trusted allied nations globally, closer to potential theaters of operation of U.S. forces.  

Our customers face an increasingly threatening, complex and digitized geopolitical environment. Today’s challenges demand we deliver platforms and solutions networked to provide unparalleled impact. Only then will our customers stay ahead of ready, with an agile, adaptive and unpredictable counter to our adversaries’ moves.