The X-Men and Avengers have lessons for international defense cooperation

As tensions rise with Russia and China, America's greatest strategic advantage lies not in any single weapons system, but in our unparalleled network of global alliances. While our rivals struggle to maintain even a handful of true partners, the United States stands at the center of a coalition that is greater than anything Nick Fury and Charles Xavier combined could ever imagine. But are we fully leveraging this strength when it comes to developing and acquiring new military capabilities?

The truth is, we’re not—at least not yet. Despite fighting alongside coalition partners in virtually every modern conflict, from Afghanistan to the Pacific, America’s defense acquisition workforce tends to operate in relative isolation. Our program offices develop new systems with little input from the very allies who will fight beside us. We train as we fight, but we don’t buy as we fight. It’s as if we’re trying to save the world with Iron Man suits while ignoring the rest of the Avengers. Yes, Tony Stark’s tech is amazing, but he’s far less effective when he goes solo.

The real-world disconnect between our operational reality and our acquisition practices introduces unnecessary risks into our national defense posture. Systems developed without allied input may lack crucial interoperability features or fail to account for coalition priorities. We may reinvent wheels that our partners have already perfected or miss opportunities to pool resources and talent. It’s like one hero trying to close that scary portal over New York City without coordinating with the rest of the team; it’s inefficient and potentially disastrous.

Talking with our allies is essential

The solution is surprisingly simple, although not necessarily easy: Our acquisition professionals must talk to their international counterparts. Their conversations need not be restricted to formal, highly structured environments—which certainly have their value—but should also include informal personal connections that foster collaboration and mutual understanding. It’s less about building “International Joint Coalition Allied System Program Offices” (which, let’s be honest, would be a nightmare to develop) and more about quietly eating shawarma together after the battle. Those are the connections that make the more rigorous conversations easier.

Imagine if every American program manager, engineer, and contracting officer had ongoing relationships with peers in allied nations. It would be like creating our own global defense version of S.H.I.E.L.D. Acquisition professionals from around the world could share ideas, discuss common challenges, and identify opportunities for joint development or shared investment. They could build an organic understanding of each other’s needs, priorities, capabilities, and limitations. This web of connections would not only improve our technical capabilities but also evolve in unpredictable ways and strengthen the human bonds that form the true foundation of our alliances. After all, even Iron Man and Wolverine eventually learned to trust and work with others.

Creating these connections doesn’t require massive policy overhauls or new international agreements. As I stated in a recent whitepaper, some policy updates would help, but ultimately it starts with simple steps like creating forums for international exchange, establishing fellowship programs, or even just encouraging acquisition professionals to reach out to their foreign counterparts. We may not have Professor X’s Cerebro system, but we do have smartphones. Let’s use them.

And to be clear, this is not just about increasing the Defense Department’s foreign military sales efforts. Instead, it’s about widening the ecosystem and designing our systems with allies in mind, which means actually talking with them and building partnerships that flow in both directions. We might even discover that some of Wakanda’s tech outperforms Stark Industries.

One promising sign is the new International Joint Requirements Oversight Council, or I-JROC, initiative, which brings together the vice chiefs of defense of the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia to “identify and validate joint and combined warfighter proposals.” As Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Christopher Grady explained in a recent article, “Interoperability and interchangeability are easier to achieve when pursued from the beginning…” and that he would like to “add more allies and partnerships to the conversation to address our future challenges and opportunities—together.” With an I-JROC validating warfighter proposals, we also need program managers who have an informed international perspective as they turn these proposals into capabilities.

On a similar note, last month President Biden hosted the  “Quad” Leaders—prime ministers from Australia, India, and Japan—to discuss military defense in the Indo-Pacific, among other topics. Their conversation is an outstanding example for the wider acquisition community to follow. I’m sure you can draw your own superhero-themed metaphor at this point.

Benefits outweigh technical challenges

The benefits of this approach extend far beyond improved interoperability. By tapping into the collective expertise of our allies, we gain access to a broader pool of innovation and talent. We can aggregate demand to drive down costs and accelerate delivery timelines. It’s the difference between facing Thanos alone or with the combined might of Earth’s mightiest heroes. And just as importantly, it would send a powerful message of deterrence, based on the strength and unity of our alliances—a message that stands in stark contrast to the isolation of our rivals.

Critics may point to potential security risks or the technical challenges of “design by committee.” These are valid concerns, but they are far outweighed by the risks of continuing to develop capabilities in isolation. With thoughtful guidelines and a clear shared vision, international collaboration can actually improve security by creating legitimate pathways for technology sharing that reduce incentives for espionage. Creating something like Five Eyes for the Industrial Base would be an intriguing piece of this puzzle.

As we face a future of intensifying great power competition, America’s alliances remain our ace in the hole. Russia and China, for all their bluster, can count their true partners on one hand—or one finger. They’re more Hydra than Avengers. In contrast, the United States has dozens of genuine partners, representing a staggering share of global military and economic power. By fostering personal connections between our acquisition professionals and their allied counterparts, we can turn this latent strength into a true force multiplier.

It’s time to buy the way we fight: together, with our allies.

Dan Ward is a military technologist and innovation catalyst at MITRE. He served for more than 20 years as an acquisition officer in the U.S. Air Force, where he specialized in leading high-speed, low-cost technology development programs. He is the author of four books on innovation: PUNK (2023), LIFT (2019), The Simplicity Cycle (2015), and F.I.R.E. (2014).