DOD excels at prototyping. Getting to production is another story.
Gettyimages.com/ Artem Onoprienko
ByNick Wakeman,
Editor-in-Chief, Washington Technology
June 18, 2026 02:56 PM ET
Acquisition reform may be the bridge, but the paths from prototype to funded program remains unclear.
The Defense Department is skilled at developing prototypes to test innovations, but speakers at the Defense One Tech Summit told attendees on Tuesday that getting the tech into production remains a challenge.
“We’ve gotten really good at prototyping innovation, however you want to define it. But the challenge is what does it lead to,” said Jerry McGinn, senior fellow of the defense-industrial initiatives group at Center for Strategic and International Studies.
McGinn was joined on a panel at the summit by Kedar Pavgi, director of commercial strategy and operations at the Defense Innovation Unit; and Veronica Daigle, president of the national security practice at investment firm Red Cell Partners.
But McGinn expressed some optimism given the emphasis...
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