Deterrence at Scale

Moderator Sam Vinograd opens with introductions that double as a snapshot of how differently three organizations approach the same mission. Jenny McArdle leads the US arm of a European AI-defense company that has operated in Ukraine since 2022. Heather Armentrout leads the US defense arm of a 212-year-old Norwegian company now investing in domestic manufacturing. Becca Wasser sits inside Bloomberg’s in-house think tank, translating defense and economic trends for investors and policymakers.

The core argument of the conversation is that deterrence itself has changed. Where Cold War-era deterrence relied on punishment (mutually assured destruction), today’s approach is about denial: building a mix of capabilities broad enough that an adversary decides not to act in the first place. No single company, and arguably no single country, can build that mix alone, which is why interoperability between companies and allied governments becomes the real strategic question.

The panel is candid about the obstacles. Government procurement, they argue, is still built around hardware acquisition even as software increasingly differentiates modern defense capability, a mismatch that slows adoption of newer, faster acquisition pathways. Armentrout points out that interoperability challenges exist even within the US government’s own service branches, not just between allied nations. The panel also discusses “friendshoring,” leaning on allied nations’ manufacturing capacity and know-how as a near-term bridge while the US rebuilds its own industrial base, alongside newer government capital tools aimed at the same goal.

The conversation closes on a sober note about production capacity gaps between the US and global competitors, offered as evidence that rebuilding the defense industrial base will take sustained, whole-of-government investment rather than any single program. Asked what will differentiate the US in the years ahead, all three panelists converge on the same answer: innovation capacity, paired with a network of allies and partners that adversaries don’t have.

Key Takeaways from the Conversation

• Deterrence has shifted from punishment to denial, meaning it now depends on a broad, interoperable mix of capabilities built by many companies and allied governments working together, rather than any single system or country.
• Government procurement is a recurring blocker. Panelists argue acquisition processes are still built around hardware even as software increasingly differentiates capability, and that faster, software-first acquisition pathways exist but aren’t consistently used.
• Interoperability challenges exist even within the US government, not just between allied nations, according to one panelist’s example from a major homeland defense initiative.
• ”Friendshoring,” drawing on allied nations’ manufacturing capacity while the US rebuilds its own, is framed as a near-term bridge, not a long-term substitute for domestic industrial capacity.
• The panel’s consensus pick for America’s biggest long-term advantage: innovation capacity, combined with its network of allies and partners.

Why This Conversation Matters

As policy attention on the defense industrial base continues to build, this conversation offers a grounded, cross-sector view, from a European defense-tech operator, an industry executive, and an economic researcher, of what’s actually working and what still needs to change.

About the Guests

Sam Vinograd is a CBS National Security Contributor, moderating this panel.

Dr. Jenny McArdle is General Manager of Helsing US. Helsing is a European AI and defense technology company that has operated in Ukraine since 2022.

Heather Armentrout is President of Kongsberg Defense US. Kongsberg is a Norwegian defense company founded over 200 years ago.

Becca Wasser is Defense Lead at Bloomberg Economics. She previously worked at research institutions including the RAND Corporation and the Center for a New American Security.