U.S. Brigades Last 24 Hours Against Ukraine’s Drones | MG Duane Miller
Summary
Major General Dwayne Miller argues that the U.S. military’s slow innovation cycle is a critical vulnerability compared to Ukraine’s rapid, decentralized learning ecosystem. He highlights how Ukrainian drone companies embed with combat units to iterate tactics and software in weeks, a speed the U.S. cannot match due to bureaucratic procurement hurdles and prime contractor IP restrictions. Miller emphasizes that national power now depends on the "speed of learning," urging the U.S. to adopt agile contracting, embed small tech firms in training centers, and leverage real-time battlefield data …
Topics discussed
Introduction and guest background
The speed of learning as national power
Ukraine's drone ecosystem and TTPs
Innovation speed and democratic constraints
Cost asymmetry in the Iran conflict
Embedding drone companies in US centers
Real-time data and the learning loop
Risk management and unclassified systems
Critique of prime contractors and IP
Barriers for small defense companies
Personal anecdote on slow fielding
Why US lessons from Ukraine are slow
Structure of Security Assistance Group
Extracting and sharing lessons learned
US brigades vs Ukrainian drone forces
The gray zone and maneuver warfare
Operational, industrial, and institutional clocks
Organizational culture and bureaucracy
Patriot software updates and data sharing
Historical pattern of losing first battles
Vision for brigade-level innovation units
IP issues with Copperhead and Excalibur
Battle labs and fast-tracking proven tech
Commander risk tolerance and budget limits
Current state of US drone units
Practical steps to avoid first-battle losses
Profile of Maria Berlinska, Mother of Drones
Closing remarks and future collaboration
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