At a time when technological innovation is redefining the balance of power, PTC’s 2nd National Security Executive Exchange brought together leaders from government and industry to discuss how the U.S. can accelerate defense modernization. Throughout the course of the day, participants converged on a common theme: the speed and scale of innovation on modern battlefields demands a new model for acquisition, collaboration, and digital integration.
Driving defense modernization
The opening panel set the tone for the day with PTC’s National Security Lead, Alex Daly, welcoming members of Congress on stage to discuss why the time has come for defense modernization. Ukraine was highlighted as a real-time case study in software-defined warfare, with frontline forces iterating drone tactics and countermeasures in weekly cycles. The conversation examined cost exchange ratios where low-cost drones are routinely defeating multimillion-dollar platforms. Another key topic was the mounting A2/AD (anti-access/area denial) challenges in the Indo-Pacific, where long-range missiles, advanced air defenses, and electronic warfare capabilities demand greater U.S. agility in both design and deployment.
Closing the shipbuilding gap: Sea Power 2030 in focus
The shipbuilding panel underscored the urgent need to modernize America’s maritime industrial base. Panelists from the shipbuilding industry joined PTC’s CTO of Federal Aerospace and Defense, Danny Poisson, to discuss why achieving “Sea Power 2030” will require overcoming supply chain gaps, legacy processes, and workforce shortages.
The SHIPS for America Act was highlighted as a catalyst for reversing these trends, providing a legislative framework for rebuilding shipyard capacity and infrastructure, integrating advanced and additive manufacturing methods, attracting and retaining a skilled workforce, and unifying repair and construction efforts over a long-term shipbuilding plan.
Missile defense: Shielding the nation in an era of new threats
The missile defense panel, led by PTC’s Bill Gundrey, Senior Director of FA&D Business Development, highlighted the scale and complexity of programs like Golden Dome, where radar, sensors, and space-based interceptor architectures must function as one cohesive system.
Panelists explained why modern missile defense involves designing for the mission and understanding how intricate subsystems interact across domains. The conversation explored how connecting the mission thread and digital thread enables teams to simulate performance, validate designs virtually, and share models and IP securely across a distributed industrial base.
Deterrence in the age of uncrewed systems
The panel discussion on uncrewed systems emphasized how autonomy, AI, and digital engineering are reshaping deterrence across all domains. Panelists highlighted the need for scaling uncrewed platforms, while noting that regulatory burdens and slow procurement timelines are creating barriers that are impacting time-to-field.
Programs like Replicator were cited as early demonstrations of how the DoD can adopt thousands of autonomous systems at speed, and how virtual proving grounds can allow AI-driven behaviors to be safely tested and validated before deployment. Above all, speakers agreed that advantages will come from uncrewed systems that can integrate, collaborate, and share data as part of a connected digital ecosystem that integrates mission software, hardware configurations, and operational intelligence.
Roundtable sessions: Models, AI, and the Arsenal of Democracy
The afternoon roundtables brought the day’s themes into practical focus by examining how industry and government can work together to accelerate defense modernization.
Participants at one table discussed why shifting from document-based engineering to digital, model-centric workflows is essential for speeding design cycles, improving traceability, and enabling seamless handoffs from engineering to manufacturing and sustainment.
Another table examined how AI and automation can help to reduce engineering workload, accelerate design iteration, and improve mission readiness with predictive maintenance and faster decision support.
And finally, a third roundtable discussion explored how the U.S. can respond to Secretary of War, Hegseth’s November Arsenal of Freedom speech by embracing acquisition reforms, commercial-first solutions, modular open systems, and surge-ready manufacturing. Participants noted that these shifts must be supported by secure, interoperable digital infrastructure.
AI and the intelligent defense enterprise
The event concluded with a forward-looking discussion on how AI is transforming the defense industrial base. Panelists discussed AI’s role in engineering and beyond, highlighting ways that AI can automate entire decision loops and why responsible, scalable AI adoption must be built on a foundation of trusted, explainable data.
The discussion also turned to the future and the impact that AI will have in the coming years, with PTC’s EVP of Customer and Technology Partnerships, Steve Dertien, explaining PTC’s vision for an intelligent product lifecycle that’s supercharged with agentic AI.
Closing reflections
As the day drew to a close, it was clear that there was one theme uniting every conversation. Whether accelerating shipbuilding, scaling uncrewed systems, or defending the nation against a missile attack, leaders across the defense industrial base agreed that modernization requires speed, security, and digital trust.
The time for defense modernization has come, and PTC continues to stand at the center of this transformation, helping aerospace and defense organizations build an intelligent and secure enterprise that can meet the demands of tomorrow’s mission.
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