The defense industrial base is under growing pressure. Stockpiles are shrinking amid expenditures related to the conflict with Iran, large-scale projects such as Golden Dome require specialized materials and components, and supply chain shortages threaten to slow these efforts.
“The reality we’re facing is that the traditional way we build military platforms—where it takes years, sometimes a decade, to move a system from a whiteboard to operational deployment—is a strategic liability,” said Ana Garcia Olson, managing director and Navy and Marine Corps business lead at Accenture Federal Services.
To shorten design, development, and manufacturing timelines, the industry is looking for new tools. Artificial intelligence (AI) is emerging as one of the most promising: it can accelerate processes, streamline workflows, and analyze vast amounts of data to support better-informed decisions.
“When you look at the immediate constraints, it almost always comes down to capacity,” said Amy Bahrani, managing director and AI, data, and Defense Industrial Base lead at Accenture Federal Services. “It’s the material constraints, space constraints, and workforce shortages putting pressure on the system from every angle. To break through that pressure, we must stop treating the DIB as a reactive or even passive supply chain function.”
The traditional pace, a strategic vulnerability
Tools such as digital twins, modeling, and robotic automation are already widely used across the defense industry. What is new is the way AI can accelerate and integrate them into design and manufacturing processes.
Engineers can quickly identify problems in a design and correct them in a virtual environment, without rebuilding a system or component for every change. Once an optimal configuration has been established, it can be built and tested physically.
“When you can securely share cross-domain data and run high-performance simulations, you unlock the ability to field advanced military technology at commercial speed and industrial scale,” Bahrani said. “That is how you build a resilient ecosystem where industry partners can see their innovations reaching the frontline faster.”
Making this possible requires secure, cloud-based data infrastructure that enables information to be accessed and shared across teams and design or manufacturing sites. Data is useful only when it is accessible, and a shared source of information helps everyone involved work from the same, up-to-date records.
Data speeds production, people retain control
AI can reduce workloads, but it cannot replace human judgment. People must review the data it produces and make final decisions to ensure that results are reliable and practical. AI models also depend on high-quality data and human oversight throughout the process—not just at the end.
“It’s not enough to drop information into data lakes or insert a human into a legacy business process at discrete points,” Olson said. “The most effective AI-powered operations are redesigned from the ground up with humans in the lead. You need real-time data to give leaders decision advantage, but humans must be positioned from the start to steer the system, not just validate a machine’s work.”
Supply chains vulnerable to bottlenecks
Supply chain fragility has become increasingly apparent in recent years. Shortages of raw materials—including rare earth minerals and computer chips—workforce gaps, and transport disruptions can quickly affect production. Rising demand to support Ukraine and expenditures on munitions in the conflict with Iran are adding to the pressure.
Meeting current and future needs requires a rapid expansion not only of manufacturing, but also of the sources for materials and components, including those needed for air and missile defense interceptors. Component shortages and rising costs complicate the effort, while expanding production capacity and securing raw materials require substantial investment.
A recent Accenture report identifies three main causes of the widening gap between demand and delivery:
- Supply chains built for peacetime are buckling under surges in demand.
- Military requirements, including autonomy and counter-drone capabilities, are evolving faster than industrial processes can respond.
- Orders are exceeding current delivery capacity across every major defense system category.
Supplier consolidation and the arrival of new competitors in the defense market can add further constraints, Bahrani warned. A single supplier—or a small group of companies—may end up serving multiple manufacturers and applications, becoming a critical chokepoint for the entire supply chain.
AI can help reduce these risks by mapping supply chains, tracking materials and components, identifying bottlenecks, and locating alternative suppliers. Early detection of potential disruptions would allow companies to prevent or mitigate them before production is interrupted.
Preparing the workforce for a digital industry
AI is a powerful tool, but people will remain central at every stage. Their work, however, will change, and employees will need new skills.
Familiarity with digital tools is becoming essential. Companies may need to retrain their workforces and rethink preparation for design and manufacturing roles as AI use expands.
In some cases, technology must adapt to employees’ capabilities, rather than the other way around. “The younger generation entering the workforce grew up in a real-time data environment,” Olson said. “If they step onto a submarine or a shipyard floor and find themselves cut off from basic data access, they are underutilized. We must give them the intuitive, modern tools that match their aptitudes, so they are empowered to solve problems on the fly.”
Early-career employees are generally accustomed to using smartphones and tablets in both their personal lives and education. Companies can build on that experience by providing digital tools suited to manufacturing, rather than relying solely on traditional training and paper documentation.
“If a technician encounters an error code they’ve never seen on an assembly line, they shouldn’t have to halt production or track down a supervisor,” Bahrani said. “We are deploying AI-powered systems that ingest standard operating procedures, documentation, and blueprints in real time. The technician can ask a question, get the exact fix surfaced instantly, and keep the line moving.”
Data integration, the next priority
The defense industrial base is at a critical juncture: demand is changing rapidly, new technologies are disrupting established processes, and competition in the market is growing. To respond, companies must use tools such as AI to become faster, more agile, and more efficient.
“We need both government and industry to accelerate their own internal operations into an ‘Intelligent Enterprise’ so they can collectively support a true ‘National Enterprise,’” Bahrani said. “That means driving end-to-end data integration with agentic AI across the entire product lifecycle—from initial ideation and design through engineering, manufacturing, and field service.”
