Creative Disruptors in the Desert 2025

February 21-22, 2025 | Indian Wells, CA

ANNUAL CONFERENCE

RENEW: REVITALIZING AN EFFICIENT NATIONAL SECURITY ECOSYSTEM & WORKFORCE

This conference brought together national security leaders, defense innovators, and industry experts to explore disruptive strategies for modernizing U.S. National Security. The conference engaged in a dialogue on RENEW and spotlighted other transformative innovations that address emerging threats and build a resilient defense ecosystem for the future.

Creative Disruptors in the Desert 2025 Report

Conference REPORT

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Agenda

The Imperative to RENEW (Time is Short and the Stakes are High)

Moderated By:
The Honorable Ellen Lord, Former Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment

As global threats intensify and technological advancements accelerate, it is imperative that all branches of government work together to renew and strengthen America’s national security ecosystem. This high-level discussion brought together top defense leaders and policymakers to address the urgent need for innovation, strategic investment, and whole-of-country collaboration to ensure the U.S. remains ahead of emerging threats.

AI-Powered Capabilities: Urgent to Use, Critical to Defend

Moderated by:
Shyam Sankar, Chief Technology Officer, Palantir

AI-driven exponential capabilities are no longer a future challenge—they are a present reality. The United States stands at a critical crossroads. This panel explored near-term AI-powered advancements, their transformative potential, and the urgent need for decisive action to both harness and defend against these capabilities. The discussion highlighted concrete examples, the necessity of continuous adaptation, and the strategic imperatives for investment, policy agility, and operational integration.

Decisive Action: Shaping the U.S. National Security Strategy

Moderated by:
Admiral John Richardson, USN (Ret), 31st Chief of Naval Operations

Some of our nation’s current and past top defense leaders discussed the challenges we face, such as the top line budget, resource allocation to legacy systems, risk aversion, and central planning, and what and how we must change to adopt and defend in an environment of exponentially expanding capabilities.

Restoring Freedom’s Forge: American Innovation Unleashed

Moderated by:
Eric Lofgren, Senate Armed Services Committee

Inspired by Senator Roger Wicker’s Restoring Freedom’s Forge initiative, this panel examined how the U.S. can reignite its industrial base for national security. Just as America’s WWII-era mobilization transformed the nation into the "Arsenal of Democracy," today's challenges demand an equally bold response.

Leadership From America’s Defense Primes

Moderated by:
The Honorable Jim Moran, Former Congressman (VA-08)

In this session, leading defense prime contractors shared insights on their roles in advancing U.S. national security priorities. By highlighting innovative strategies and future-oriented solutions, these industry leaders addressed obstacles and initiatives for adapting to emerging threats, integrating cutting-edge technologies, and collaborating with the government to ensure a robust and efficient defense ecosystem.

General Atomics - The Original Disruptor

Accelerating Technology to the Battlefield

Defense Innovation Recommendations

A: Merge and Scale a Hedge Innovation Fund

Workshop A focused on formalizing a proposal for an annual fund to rapidly acquire capabilities to hedge our national security investments.

B: Building a 21st Century “Arsenal For Democracy“

Workshop B built on the CDF retreat topic of Large-Scale Investing in Defense Technology.

C: Building a Dynamic Defense Capability Market

Workshop C focused on creating a Department of Defense central marketplace (DCM) that would streamline military procurement, support experimentation events, signal demand to investors, simplify contracting for commercial items and expand defense procurement of “as-a-service” offerings.