Anduril CEO Says Economic Warfare Is 'New Normal' in Modern Conflicts, Warns of U.S. Supply Chain Vulnerabilities

Brian Schimpf, CEO of defense technology company Anduril, presented a thesis at Fortune's Brainstorm Tech conference that the nature of modern armed conflict has fundamentally shifted toward economic warfare targeting civilian infrastructure like data centers, oil refineries, and shipping lanes rather than traditional military assets. He pointed to recent conflicts as evidence, noting that the U.S. and Israel conducted roughly 10 times as many strikes in the first month of recent conflict as during the entire Gulf War, and cited the Strait of Hormuz blockade as an example of this emerging pattern. Schimpf emphasized that low-cost drone technology has made economic strikes increasingly affordable, while warning that the U.S. faces a critical vulnerability: it cannot inflict economic pain on China without suffering catastrophic economic consequences itself. He highlighted specific supply chain fragility, noting the Pentagon burned through 850 Tomahawk missiles in four weeks while replenishing at only 90 per year, and warned that China's systematic acquisition of critical minerals like germanium and rare earth elements represents a strategic stranglehold the U.S. has been slow to counter. Schimpf also addressed the defense tech valuation bubble, suggesting that roughly 90% of returns in hot categories accrue to the top two players, and discussed Anduril's own approach to going public, arguing the company benefits from remaining private during the current hype cycle.