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News | June 8, 2026

A Blueprint for Military-Industrial Partnership: Shared Risk and Unified Cybersecurity as Instruments of National Power

By Susan Lawrence, Paul Fredenburgh III, and Michael Black

Cyber defense has evolved beyond the boundaries of any single institution or sector. This Senior Leader Perspective argues that national survival in a globally contested digital ecosystem now depends on a fully integrated network spanning the military, government, industry, academia, and allied partners. As emerging technologies---including artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, quantum computing, and advanced sensing capabilities---reshape both cyber threats and operational defense requirements, the United States must adopt new models of institutional collaboration anchored by shared responsibility and strategic risk, collectively focused on rapid, cost-efficient acquisition, fielding, and sustainment of effective operational capabilities. Examining the strategic imperatives of critical infrastructure protection, trusted autonomy, and workforce development, this article asserts that future decision advantage will depend less on isolated technological superiority than on the ability to align innovation, policy, operational agility, and human expertise into a resilient, unified, and internationally aligned national cyber enterprise.

 

READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE

 

doi.org/10.55682/cdr/66tq-fnmb

The Cyber Defense Review

Volume 11, Issue 2