The Elara Edge

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The Elara Edge is a thought leadership forum of military and industry experts providing commentary and analysis on the latest news developments in national security - with an emphasis in space and aerospace applications.

  1. 2 days ago

    Chinese AI Closing Gap in Cybersecurity Vulnerability Detection

    The race to artificial intelligence supremacy appears to be getting tighter. Earlier this summer, a Chinese AI model was found to match Anthropic's Mythos at discovering cybersecurity vulnerabilities despite trailing U.S. models on other tasks. The development carries real national security implications as the cyber domain increasingly operates at machine speed, while heightening the imperative for the U.S. government and commercial industry to partner together to streamline development and adoption of secure and reliable AI tools.   In this month's episode of "The Elara Edge," Maj Gen (Ret) Kim Crider, Lt Gen (Ret) Bob Skinner, and Mike Robbins break down the challenges and opportunities to effectively adopting and integrating artificial intelligence in a rapidly-evolving cybersecurity environment.  Maj Gen (Ret) Kim Crider is a Founding Partner at Elara Nova and the first Chief Technology and Innovation Officer with the United States Space ForceLt Gen (Ret) Bob Skinner is an Executive Partner at Elara Nova, and the former director of the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) and former commander of the Joint Force Headquarters, Department of Defense Information Network (DODIN)Mike Robbins is a retired colonel with the United States Air Force and the former Director of the USSPACECOM Joint Cyber Center and Joint Ops Center"The Elara Edge" is hosted and produced by Scott King of Elara Nova. The full story can be found on Elara Nova's Insights page here. Music was produced by Patrick Watkins of PW Audio.

  2. 1 Jul

    NATO Ankara Summit Creates a Call-to-Action for Defense Industrial Base

    Heads of State and Government from 32 nations will gather at this month’s NATO Summit in Ankara, Türkiye, looking to accelerate progress toward the goals agreed at The Hague Summit last year. The declaration pledged to strengthen collective defense by committing member nations to spend 5% of annual GDP on defense by 2035, deepen transatlantic defense industrial cooperation and reaffirmed support for Ukraine.  But now, several factors are also heightening the stakes of the Ankara Summit: Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, recent conflicts in the Middle East and “NATO 3.0,” or the increased pressure on and intention of allies to take on greater defense investment and burden-sharing responsibilities. In response, there is growing momentum as NATO nations increasingly invest in defense capabilities, which presents an unprecedented call-to-action for the defense industrial base to respond in kind.  In this month's episode of "The Elara Edge," Gen (Ret) James “Scorch” Hecker, Brig Gen (Ret) Chad Raduege, Tom Goffus and Brad Head preview the expectations, challenges, and broader context surrounding the upcoming NATO Summit in Ankara, Türkiye, on July 7-8th.  Gen (Ret) Hecker previously served as the Commander of Allied Air Command at NATO and is a Senior Principal Advisor at Elara Nova. Brig Gen (Ret) Raduege is the former Chief Information Officer at Headquarters, U.S. European Command and is now the President of Elara Nova's Cyber, Data & Communications sector. Goffus recently left his post as Assistant Secretary General for Operations at NATO and now serves as an Executive Partner, Global Security at Elara Nova. Head is the former Chief of Defense Planning at the U.S. Mission to NATO and is now an Executive Partner, Global Growth at Elara Nova. "The Elara Edge" is hosted and produced by Scott King of Elara Nova. The full story can be found on Elara Nova's Insights page here. Music was produced by Patrick Watkins of PW Audio.

  3. 1 Apr

    Foreign Military Sales Reform to Strengthen International Cooperation

    When a foreign partner seeks military technology from the U.S. defense industrial base, there’s two ways for them to acquire that capability: Direct Commercial Sales (DCS) and Foreign Military Sales (FMS). In DCS, the foreign country negotiates directly with the contractor. But in the FMS process, the United States government manages the sale and transfer of that technology with additional training and sustainment support in a way that strengthens international cooperation and the collective security of the United States and its allies.  But a recent surge in demand for military technologies from allies and partners is challenging the current FMS process to keep up, resulting in two recent executive orders and a series of organizational changes to reform and modernize the Foreign Military Sales program.   In this month's episode of "The Elara Edge," Brad Head, Managing Director of International Partnerships at Elara Nova, and Heidi Grant, Executive Partner at Elara Nova, break down the series of changes coming to the Foreign Military Sales program and how these efforts will help streamline and strengthen international engagements with the U.S. government and its defense industrial base. Brad is a retired Colonel with the United States Air Force and is the former Chief of the Office of Defense Cooperation in Brussels. Heidi is the former Director of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency and the Defense Technology Security Administration. "The Elara Edge" is hosted and produced by Scott King of Elara Nova. The full story can be found on Elara Nova's Insights page here. Music was produced by Patrick Watkins of PW Audio.

  4. 2 Feb

    Department of War Seeks Solutions for Emerging Counter-UAS Mission

    Recent years have demonstrated the growing prevalence of drones in surveillance and military operations. In 2024, unidentified drones flew over a military base in Langley, Virgina. In 2025, Israel used drones to take out Iranian air defense systems in a coordinated attack, while Ukraine launched “Operation Spiderweb,” using drones to damage and destroy aircraft deep within Russian territory. But a new Department of Defense Inspector General report uncovered a series of challenges for defending the United States’ military installations from similar drone incursions or attacks. These potential vulnerabilities have prompted the Joint Interagency Task Force 401, an Army-led organization tasked with the counter-Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) mission, to release updated policy guidance that requires military installation commanders to prepare their own counter-UAS defense plans within the next 60 days.  In this month’s episode of "The Elara Edge," Lt Gen (Ret) David “Abu” Nahom and Dr. JP “Spear” Mintz break down the series of escalating events that demonstrate not only how unmanned aerial systems (UAS) are changing the nature of military operations, but also creating an imperative to find new and innovative solutions to address the emerging counter-UAS mission.   Gen Nahom is the President of Elara Nova’s Aeronautics & Mission Systems (AMS) sector after serving for 36 years in the United States Air Force, culminating in his roles as Commander of Alaskan Command, the Alaskan NORAD region and the Eleventh Air Force. Dr. Mintz is a recently retired Colonel with the Air Force, where he commanded in the Air Force's Spectrum Warfare Wing and served as a Special Advisor to senior leaders at NORAD, U.S. Northern Command, and others. "The Elara Edge" is hosted and produced by Scott King of Elara Nova. The full story can be found on Elara Nova's Insights page here. Music was produced by Patrick Watkins of PW Audio.

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The Elara Edge is a thought leadership forum of military and industry experts providing commentary and analysis on the latest news developments in national security - with an emphasis in space and aerospace applications.

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