Counter-UAS Policy
The C-UAS Acquisition Gap: Why the Kill Chain Is Ahead of the Contracting Vehicle
The United States has made extraordinary technological progress in counter-UAS capability development. The challenge is no longer primarily technical — it is institutional. The acquisition system was not designed for the pace at which the UAS threat is evolving, and the gap between what is operationally needed and what the traditional FAR-based contracting process can deliver is widening. This analysis examines the structural reasons for that gap and what the defense acquisition community can do about it.
Bradley J. Young
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Counter-UAS · Acquisition Policy
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Coming at Launch
IAMD Architecture
IBCS at Scale: Lessons from the First Operational Deployments
The Integrated Battle Command System promises to transform IAMD C2 — but the path from program of record to operational capability is instructive. What the first deployments reveal about integration challenges, training requirements, and the gap between technical capability and battlefield employment.
Bradley J. Young
At Launch
FMS & Security Cooperation
Gulf IAMD Modernization: The Procurement Landscape Through 2030
Partner nations across the Arabian Gulf are executing some of the largest IAMD procurement programs in history. An analysis of the acquisition environment, the FMS case structures driving these programs, and the advisory and integration opportunities for US industry over the coming decade.
Bradley J. Young
At Launch
Threat Analysis
The One-Way Attack UAS: How a Low-Cost Threat Is Reshaping Layered Defense Design
Operation Epic Fury and the broader pattern of aerial threat employment in the Arabian Peninsula have fundamentally changed how IAMD planners think about cost-exchange ratios, engagement sequencing, and the role of directed energy in the short-range layer. A practitioner's assessment.
Bradley J. Young
At Launch
War Gaming
Red Teaming IAMD: Why Most Defense Exercises Underestimate the Threat
Well-designed Red Teams are the most honest feedback mechanism available to defense planners. Most organizations underinvest in adversary realism. What effective IAMD Red Teaming looks like, and why the scenarios that make commanders uncomfortable are the most valuable ones.
Bradley J. Young
At Launch
Procurement Policy
What the NDAA Gets Right — and Wrong — on Missile Defense Acquisition Reform
Annual defense authorization acts have made meaningful progress on acquisition reform, but the legislative intent often runs ahead of implementation. A review of recent NDAA provisions most relevant to missile defense and C-UAS acquisition, and where the gaps remain.
Bradley J. Young
At Launch
Technology Assessment
Directed Energy and the Future of Short-Range Air Defense: Promise, Reality, and Timeline
High-energy laser and high-power microwave systems offer a compelling cost-per-engagement solution for the short-range IAMD layer. What the current state of technology actually delivers, where the gap between capability and operational employment remains, and what the acquisition path looks like.
Bradley J. Young
At Launch
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Full Insights library publishes June 1, 2027. In the lead-up to launch, analysis and commentary on IAMD policy, C-UAS acquisition, and regional security cooperation will be distributed via LinkedIn. Follow Bradley J. Young on LinkedIn for practitioner perspective between now and the hard launch date.