Senior Fellow @AEI Follow me on Bluesky @toddsharrison.bsky.social or LinkedIn https://teapawt.net/t.co/hCYajM0hcb
Washington DC
Joined May 2012
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Todd Harrison retweeted
Too much on defense, not enough, or not on the right things? @ToddHarrisonDC (@AEI) and @MichaelEOHanlon (@BrookingsInst) debate live in our Virtual Town Hall this Wednesday, Oct. 21 at 2 PM ET.
Register today: us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi…
ALT A debate event poster titled "Offense on Defense?" featuring two speakers standing at podiums, set in a formal venue. The event involves Todd Harrison of the American Enterprise Institute and Michael O'Hanlon of the Brookings Institution, discussing defense spending. Scheduled for Wednesday, October 21, at 2 PM ET, with registration available on ConcordAction.com.
Todd Harrison retweeted
New: Is the U.S. ready for the repercussions of space war? Crucial civilian and commercial satellites are now likely targets in an orbital conflict.
"Is the American public ready for that? I'm not sure they are," @ToddHarrisonDC told me.
More in @axios:
axios.com/2026/10/15/space-w…
Here's a chart showing the procurement funding history for the ~14 or so Munitions Acceleration Council priority programs. The FY27 budget would increase these programs to almost 5x their current funding level. defensebudget.aei.org/share/…
Todd Harrison retweeted
I asked Gemini to remove the steam from @Boeing's F/A-XX rendering and it turned the jet into an F-35, which is made by @LockheedMartin
🤖 Made with AI
Just ran across this in some research:
In one of the many stories told of [Curtis] LeMay, during a briefing a young captain referred to the Soviets as “enemies.” The general allegedly interrupted him and said, “Young man, the Soviets are our adversaries; the Navy is our enemy.”
The Kennedy / Cape Canaveral spaceport is the busiest in the world. What I did not know until last week is that the area code for this region is...321. 🚀spacedata.aei.org/share/pq6K…
Todd Harrison retweeted
The holes in Trump’s Golden Dome giftarticle.ft.com/giftartic… via @financialtimes @arogDC @crsdavies @Dan_Clark5 @JohnReedwrites @sylviapfeifer @inari_ta @ian_bott_artist deliver a rich FT visual story of the still emerging Golden Dome architecture for strengthening layered defense; decisions pose tough choices regarding what's necessary, what's affordable, and what's prudent? #Golden_Dome @CSISAerospace @RepGaramendi @AerospaceCorp @northropgrumman @LMSpace @RTX_News @generaldynamics @LockheedMartin @The_TrueAnomaly @CSRisks @HanwhaDefenseUS @ToddHarrisonDC #glenvanherck #mallorystewart @BettyMcCollum04 @USCBO @SpaceX #Professor_Frederick_Lamb
Todd Harrison retweeted
President Trump recently directed a new presidential commission to design a United States Space Academy.
@ToddHarrisonDC argues that rather than create another overextended bureacracy, Congress should establish a scholarship-for-service program.
aei.org/foreign-and-defense-…
My thoughts on the munitions crisis: every month that passes without congressional action extends our window of vulnerability even longer.
We can buy more weapons. We can’t buy more time. defenseone.com/ideas/2026/08… via @DefenseOne
My thoughts on what the United States Space Academy should be: a scholarship-for-service program rather than a physical campus. We should leverage what already works and what makes our existing space workforce the best in the world.
Todd Harrison retweeted
Planes fly on money, and nobody takes apart a budget like @ToddHarrisonDC of @AEI. He joins us to get into what $1.5T means for airpower. We talk NGAD, B-21, CCA, and… Congressional procedures! Plus airpower headlines. Powered by @GE_Aerospace!
tinyurl.com/TAPPS4E28
![Defense & Aerospace Air Power Podcast [Aug 20, 26] Season 4 E28 Budget Knievel - Defense & Aerosp...](https://pbs.twimg.com/card_img/2115836930357395456/m25O0Kfl?format=jpg&name=800x419)
This chart shows just how dependent Russia is on the Soyuz 2 launch vehicle: 85% of their launches. Ukraine knows how to hit them where it hurts.
spacedata.aei.org/share/aP-c…
Todd Harrison retweeted
NEW WORKING PAPER: AEI’s @ToddHarrisonDC examines the defense budget for FY2027, and how the President’s request is fundamentally breaking the patterns seen in previous budgets.
Read the full paper: aei.org/research-products/wo…
Todd Harrison retweeted
The fiscal year 2027 defense budget is more than a one-year funding surge. It is a front-loaded plan for a multiyear transformation.
Crucial analysis from AEI's @ToddHarrisonDC on how the president’s budget request breaks with previous budgets in four ways.
aei.org/research-products/wo…
At $1.5T, the FY27 defense budget is the largest one-year increase (% & $) since the Korean War.
But the topline is the least interesting part.
My new @AEI working paper identifies four discontinuities buried inside this budget and the challenges they create. 🧵
So will this actually happen?
Three big unknowns:
1⃣How much Congress actually appropriates across reconciliation, base budget, and supplemental
2⃣How much flexibility vs. oversight it demands
3⃣Whether industry can turn front-loaded funding into sustained production capacity
Bottom line:
This budget is a discontinuous break in how modernization money is allocated, what it buys, who controls it, and the production rates industry must deliver. Whether it becomes reality will play out well beyond this administration.
Full paper: aei.org/research-products/wo…