Why Partnerships Matter: Five Takeaways From the Alaska Defense Forum
In August, I traveled to Fairbanks for the 2025 Alaska Defense Forum – an annual gathering focused on conversations that “(shape) the future of national security, tackle today’s critical defense issues, and strengthen the resilience of the communities that support our military missions.”
Conversations like these are a natural fit for Launch Alaska. We’re on a mission to catalyze rapid innovation that strengthens energy, transportation, and industrial systems; this work intersects with and supports numerous defense-related goals.
Meeting our mission requires strong partnerships and cross-sector collaboration. This tenet is central to Launch Alaska’s work, and it was a consistent theme throughout this year’s Alaska Defense Forum.
The three-day conference highlighted one clear message: Alaska is critical to national defense, but meeting today’s threats requires new ways of working together and innovating across the military, government, and private sector. Participants agreed that we all want the same thing — to get the right technologies into the hands of the people who need them, as quickly as possible. Here are five takeaways from the event:
Alaska Is Central to U.S. Defense
With its location bridging the Arctic and the Pacific, Alaska is far from “remote” — it’s a frontline hub for U.S. strategy. Leaders stressed that Alaska must be able to sustain itself in order to sustain the nation’s defense posture. This geographic reality underscores why collaboration between defense installations, local communities, and private partners is essential: no single entity can do it alone.
Stretching Dollars Through Partnerships
A recurring theme was the need to leverage private-sector innovation. Every base in Alaska is looking for ways to extend its resources. Novel contracting mechanisms like intergovernmental support agreements (IGSAs) are one path forward. By working with municipalities, universities, and companies, the Department of Defense can stretch innovation dollars further and reduce risk. As one U.S. Coast Guard official told forum attendees, we have a responsibility to create an environment where our challenges are shared.
Shared Challenges Demand Shared Solutions
The threats facing Alaska — from cyberattacks on power infrastructure to increasing hybrid threats from China and Russia — are too complex for any one sector to solve. The Forum reinforced that we all share the same challenges, and we all stand to benefit from resilient solutions. Whether through energy security, communications, or logistics, aligning military needs with private-sector capabilities is a win-win.
Innovation Moves Faster When Everyone Has a Role
The Forum spotlighted technologies already reshaping defense in Alaska: unmanned vehicles, advanced communications, hypersonics, and even the potential repurposing of HAARP. But the bigger lesson was that technology adoption moves faster when defense leaders, mid-level officers, private contractors, and local institutions are aligned. The private sector can take on early risks and accelerate pilot projects, ensuring the military doesn’t have to wait years for solutions it needs now.
Total Defense Requires a Whole Community
Several speakers urged the U.S. to revisit the Cold War concept of “total defense” — the idea that true security depends on partnerships across government, civil society, and industry. In Alaska, that means empowering Native communities, ensuring food and energy security, and building redundancy into critical systems. Above all, it means creating structures where public and private partners share responsibility for both the risks and the solutions.
The Alaska Defense Forum made one thing clear: we are all on the same team. Alaska’s defense installations, communities, and companies want the same outcome — to ensure the safety and resilience of our state and nation. By working “across the fence” and leveraging private-sector innovation, we can move faster on technology adoption, ensure energy security, and build a stronger, more resilient Alaska together.
