Speaking in Washington, DC, at Breitbart News’s policy event “AI is Here: What to Fear, What to Embrace,” Under Secretary of War Emil Michael argued that decades of consolidation left the US with too few major defense contractors, weakening competition and driving up costs.
‘Five or six’ primes after mergers
In a discussion with host Matthew Boyle, Michael said that after the Cold War “all these companies merged,” and “we ended up with five primary, five or six primary defense contractors.” With fewer rivals as the military grew again, he said, “what happens when you don’t have competition? Cost overruns, delays in schedule.”
Cost‑plus incentives under fire
Describing how large programs were priced, Michael said, “They were charging us cost plus,” which pays for development time. “What’s your incentive if you’re getting paid cost plus? Takes a long time. Costs a lot.”
Goal: five new primes—without lawsuits
Michael said that when he took the job, “I said, well, I want to create five more new prime contractors in my tenure, and I don’t want to have to have them sue us to get the business.” Citing barriers that he said protected incumbents, Michael added that newer firms “SpaceX, Palantir, and Anduril, all had to sue the government for their first big contract.” He said the department has been working to remove those obstacles “so there’s a lot more competition.”
No more single‑vendor AI
Michael linked the competition push to AI procurement. He said a prior decision to choose one provider forced the department to switch when that vendor “wasn’t providing us what we needed.” Under current leadership, he said, “that will never happen again. We’ll never be solely dependent on any one provider.”
All remarks above were made by Emil Michael during the Breitbart News event on Tuesday, August 25, 2026, in Washington, DC.
