Army Assistant Secretary Andersen calls on private capital to rebuild 'Arsenal of Democracy'

NEW YORK — The U.S. Army is overhauling its Cold War-era funding framework to partner directly with private capital markets, Assistant Secretary of the… NEW YORK — The U.S. Army is overhauling its Cold War-era funding framework to partner directly with private capital markets, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Financial Management & Comptroller Marc Andersen shared with an audience of founders, startups, subject-matter experts, vice chairs, private equity, defense primes, military leaders, policymakers, thought leaders and institutional investors at the Mission 2044 Strategic Capital Summit in New York City. In his keynote address titled "Resourcing the Arsenal of Democracy at the Speed of Capitalism," Andersen emphasized that the primary strategic challenge in modern multi-domain competition is institutional velocity.

"The primary strategic challenge we face today is a crisis of velocity," Andersen said, emphasizing that while the Army remains the most lethal and capable ground combat force in the world, traditional acquisition processes designed in the mid-20th century frequently take years or decades to deliver critical capabilities to the frontline. The nature of modern conflict has shifted toward software deployment, commercial technology, rapid capital allocation and industrial agility, Andersen said. Meanwhile, foreign adversaries are already executing economic and technological warfare by systematically buying up and weaponizing international supply chains, rare earth minerals, microelectronics, maritime shipping networks and domestic energy grids