Aerospace & Defense Insights
McKinsey Direct
The state of US national security innovation: A report card
-
The new NSIB Report Card reveals where the United States is advancing, where it is falling behind, and what it will take to achieve systemic transformation in national security innovation.
Article
Sovereign AI: Building ecosystems for strategic resilience and impact
-
Sovereign AI is achievable only through an ecosystem effort that connects energy, compute, data, models, platforms, and applications across multiple actors.
Interview
Dino Mavrookas on shipbuilding’s autonomous future
-
Saronic Technologies’ autonomous surface vessels are ushering in a new era for maritime in the United States. Cofounder and CEO Dino Mavrookas discusses the company’s mission and approach.
Article
Future defense tech: Multidomain stacks to build affordable mass
-
In the face of modern warfare, a multidomain defense system is vital—necessitating a move from a vertically integrated approach to modular systems within the future defense tech stack.
Article
European defense by the numbers
-
The McKinsey European Defense Dashboard presented here provides a comprehensive set of metrics to track the evolving defense posture of European NATO countries.
Munich Security Conference 2026 Compendium
Featured collection
Collection
McKinsey on the Maritime Industry
New perspectives on strategy, operations, and the workforce of the future
Featured Interviews
Interview
Mike Schoellhorn on uniting European defense through scaled leadership and collaboration
-
Europe can tackle fragmentation by collaborating on early tech maturation, practical approaches, and a winning team mindset,...
Interview
From reckoning to renewal: An interview with KKR’s Philipp Freise
-
Europe’s resilience is being tested. Investor Philipp Freise explains why the continent’s current challenges could...
Interview
Innovation at Thales: An interview with Patrice Caine
-
Patrice Caine, chair and CEO of Thales, shares insights on the role innovation plays in the defense sector, especially the current...