Mobilizing Capital for Defense: Tactics and Recommendations

for Defense 2

First published in 2026 by NDIA’s affiliate, the Emerging Technologies Institute. 2101 Wilson Blvd, Suite 700, Arlington, VA 22201, United States of America. (703) 522-1820. © 2026 by the National Defense Industrial Association. All rights reserved. This report is made possible by general support to NDIA and the Emerging Technologies Institute. No direct sponsorship contributed to this report. This report is produced by NDIA, a non-partisan, non-profit, educational association that has been designated by the IRS as a 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization and was founded to educate its constituencies on all aspects of national security. Its research is nonpartisan. DISCLAIMER: The ideas and findings in this report should not be construed to be official positions of either NDIA or any of the organizations listed as contributors or the membership of NDIA. It is published in the interest of an information exchange between government and industry, pursuant to its mission to bring industry and government together to engage in discussions of important topics. For more information please visit our website: EmergingTechnologiesInstitute.org MEDIA QUERIES: Rachel Sutherland, NDIA Director of Public Affairs & Communications at rsutherland@NDIA.org

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Dr. Arun Seraphin

The Honorable William “Mac” Thornberry

General John Hyten, USAF (Ret)

Theresa S. Mayer

through independent research and a series of interviews. It was reviewed by a panel of expert external reviewers. The author gratefully acknowl- edges the external reviewers and interviewees for their valuable contributions, and the ETI research team for their constructive feedback throughout the project. Research support from ETI interns,

Luc Azar Tanguay is appreciated. The author fur- ther thanks Dr. Arun Seraphin, Executive Director of NDIA ETI, for his contributions and review of the material. 4

Executive Summary ........................................................................................................................................................5 Introduction .........................................................................................................................................................................6 National Security Investment Landscape .........................................................................................................7 Benefits of Private Inve stment ..............................................................................................................................7 Investment Trends in the U.S. Defense Industrial Base ............................................................................7 Tactics for Engaging Private Capital ....................................................................................................................8 1. Demand Signal .........................................................................................................................................................8 2. Catalytic Capital ...................................................................................................................................................16 3. Business Environment ......................................................................................................................................20

........................................................................................................................................................................25 Appendix 1: Research Methodology ..................................................................................................................26 Appendix 2: Calculating Private Investment in the Defense Industrial Base ............................26

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