On April 23, 2025, the University of Maryland’s Center for Governance of Technology and Systems (GoTech) welcomed back alumnus Ryan S. Lewis, CEO of Rancher Government Solutions and former Partner at SRI Ventures, for a lively talk on the evolution of America’s defense industrial base. Lewis who was a former student of GoTech Research Director, William Lucyshyn, earned his MPP from UMD’s School of Public Policy and drew on more than 15 years of experience in venture capital, cloud computing, and national-security innovation to frame a discussion on how new entrants are reshaping an industry long dominated by a handful of large “primes.” Primes are the major contractors that hold direct contracts with the Department of Defense (DoD).
Lewis charted the shift from post-Cold War consolidation to today’s diverse ecosystem, where agile startups and dual-use firms compete alongside established contractors. He noted that this diversification has been driven by both traditional investors and newly established Department of Defense venture offices, which together aim to introduce fresh ideas into a system often criticized for its protracted procurement cycles. A particularly striking trend, Lewis observed, is that for the first time, private-sector R&D spending in fields such as artificial intelligence and autonomous systems now outpaces federal defense research budgets. He argued that this reality demands innovative public-private partnerships, from expanded SBIR/STTR awards to co-funded research initiatives, to ensure that critical technologies mature in time to counter emerging threats.
Turning to acquisition reform, Lewis highlighted recent DoD efforts to accelerate the journey from concept to deployment. He described the Software Acquisition Pathway and other pilot contracting vehicles designed to bridge the “valley of death” separating promising prototypes from full-scale production. While acknowledging the enduring value of legacy platforms, he emphasized the need to integrate them with rapidly updatable, software-driven solutions and to address the cybersecurity and supply chain risks inherent in this integration. During a spirited Q&A, attendees explored current policy topics in defense innovation and discussed policy levers to sustain both competition and reliability. GoTech Director Charles Harry closed by thanking Lewis and the participants for their attendance.
