Dan Berkenstock

Distinguished Research Fellow at the Hoover Institution focused on American aerospace leadership, space security, and defense technology policy. He founded Skybox Imaging, serving as CEO and later chief product officer through its acquisition by Google, and teaches aerospace entrepreneurship at Stanford.

Deterrence Depends on Turning Commercial Technology Into Fielded Capability

Dan Berkenstock, co-author of Hoover’s Mobilize the Modern Defense Industrial Base, argues that deterring China and Russia will require the United States to turn its commercial technology and capital markets into fielded military capability. He says venture-backed firms can rapidly develop low-cost systems, but Pentagon procurement must provide credible demand and transition financing if those companies are to survive the gap between prototype and production.

Hoover InstitutionSep 4, 202612 min read