The evolution of the defense industrial base in the age of AI and autonomy

Amid ongoing conflicts and looming threats from peer adversaries like China, conversations around the American defense industrial base have shifted from capacity to resilience and speed. Meanwhile, software, AI and autonomy have emerged as key drivers for modern military operations, and with that, the DIB has evolved to incorporate new, non-traditional vendors that don’t see themselves as prime defense contractors. That transformation and fielding efforts to bolster it are the focus of the Pentagon’s Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy, led by Hon. Michael Cadenazzi. Cadenazzi joining the Daily Scoop to discuss the new and ongoing policy efforts of his office to wrap its arms around, support and grow the modern defense supply chain, the challenges it faces, how it can keep pace with commercial innovation, and what comes next. The cost to run Direct File for the 2025 tax filing season was tens of millions of dollars less than what the IRS estimated it would be, according to a new watchdog report. The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration found that the IRS ended up spending $16.2 million on the since-cancelled free electronic filing service in fiscal 2025 — far shy of the $61.2 million projected by the IRS. That $45 million gap appears to undercut one of Direct File opponents’ main complaints about the customer-praised digital initiative: that it was supposedly an inefficient use of government resources. However, TIGTA noted some caveats to that finding: The IRS initially “overestimated” how many people would use Direct File and how many “assistors” would be needed to support them. Just 751,000 taxpayers registered with Direct File for its limited second season; the IRS estimated that 32 million taxpayers would be eligible to use the tool, according to the Treasury watchdog. Of those who registered, 59% did not ultimately submit a tax return through the system. The Federal Aviation Administration is collecting information about the evolving operational and infrastructure needs of airports, given the increasing integration of unmanned aircraft systems. The FAA aims to catalog and inventory best practices for airport design standards and standalone facilities, called droneports, as part of the request for comment published in the Federal Register on Monday. The Department of Transportation component wants to interview representatives from equipment manufacturers, unmanned aircraft system vendors, the military and other stakeholders. After the comment period closes next month, the FAA will use responses to inform a report that will then shape operational evaluations and standard-setting tied to the integration of drones. The information-gathering effort comes amid a heightened focus on drone and counter-drone technologies. The FAA laid out plans to create an office overseeing the integration of drones and other advanced aviation technologies as part of its broader organizational overhaul beginning in January. Just days later, the FAA reopened a request for information centered around the handling of UAS and proposed policies for location-tracking, data-sharing and detection technologies. The Daily Scoop Podcast is available every Monday-Friday afternoon. If you want to hear more of the latest from Washington, subscribe to The Daily Scoop Podcast  on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Spotify and YouTube.