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Policy Brief
October 1, 2026
2:00 pm
EVENT: Winning the Adoption War: Diffusing AI Across the U.S. Military
The United States leads the world in frontier artificial intelligence. However, cutting edge technology used by a limited number of people is a trophy, not a capability – and the contest with China will not be decided only at the frontier.
If the most sophisticated technology on earth reaches only a fraction of the force, how much advantage does it confer? How is the Pentagon moving from procuring AI to diffusing it across the force? What cultural and organizational changes does an “AI-first” military require? And how does the United States build and keep the technical talent inside government, turning tools into outcomes before its competitors close the gap?
To discuss these questions and others, the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) hosts a conversation with FDD Visiting Military Fellow Major Megan “Napalm” Hainline, F-16 instructor pilot and AI leader; FDD Adjunct Fellow Isaac “Ike” Harris, executive director of the Frontier Security Institute; and Leah Siskind, FDD AI Research Fellow. The discussion will be moderated by RADM (Ret.) Mark Montgomery, Senior Director of FDD’s Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation.
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Overnight Brief: November 6, 2026
Read Full BriefToday In Issues:
FDD Research & Analysis
- Today at 8:30am (ET): "FDD Morning Brief," FDD Event
- "Iran After the Midterms: Trump Weakened? Tehran Emboldened — or Miscalculating?" FDD's The Iran Breakdown
- "Global Hypocrisy Shields Sudan’s SAF From Justice," Middle East 24
- "Freedom of Religion or Belief in Egypt," Testimony for the US Commission on International Religious Freedom
- "Will the International Court of Justice Lower the Bar for ‘Genocide’?" FDD Insight
- "No To Lana: Turkey and Sudan-Aligned Campaign Targets UAE’s UN Candidate," FDD Investigation
- "An Abrupt End to U.S. Military Financing to Israel Would Hurt Both Allies," FDD Policy Brief
- "North Korean Cybercriminals Carry Out the Largest Crypto Hack in History," FDD Policy Brief
- "Syria detains Hezbollah cell accused of Homs plot," FDD's Long War Journal
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- Israel’s most important alliance is confronting its biggest test in decades
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- Trump says he and Putin are close to a deal about Ukraine and ‘all of Europe’
- UNIFIL confirms it will start leaving south Lebanon when mandate ends on Dec. 31
- MEI’s Patricia Karam: Disarm Hezbollah, but don’t let it cash in on Lebanon’s reconstruction
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- WSJ Editorial: Joshua Wong’s brave example
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