Soaring demand and budgets present opportunities for aerospace and defense leaders

Legacy IT infrastructure is one of the industry’s most pressing challenges, limiting data accessibility, slowing AI‑driven analytics and creating operational and security gaps. With 36% of A&D leaders prioritising infrastructure modernisation, organisations are seeking ways to improve performance while supporting emerging technologies. Protiviti supports A&D organisations in modernising technology foundations so they can reduce risk, improve reliability and accelerate innovation.

A&D executives cite the inability to deploy AI at a competitive pace (29%), uncertain ROI (29%), and increased third-party risk (27%) as their top hurdles. Many organisations also struggle with integration and workforce readiness, making it difficult to scale AI beyond early pilots. Protiviti helps organisations implement responsible AI frameworks and operational strategies so AI delivers sustained, enterprise-wide value.

Cyber threats are the #1 near-term risk for the A&D sector, driven by CMMC requirements and rapidly advancing, state-sponsored attack tactics. These attacks increasingly target intellectual property, supply chains and critical systems using methods such as zero-day exploits and AI-enabled reconnaissance. Protiviti helps organisations strengthen cyber resilience, improve third-party oversight and meet evolving regulatory expectations.

The top investment areas include data privacy (48%), cybersecurity (42%) and infrastructure modernisation (36%), reflecting the sector’s focus on safeguarding sensitive information and enabling advanced technology. These priorities support improved resilience, readiness for AI and compliance with expanding global regulations. Protiviti helps A&D organisations turn these investment areas into measurable improvements in performance, security and operational agility.

The top 10-year challenges include long-term security and privacy concerns (58%), evolving AI deployment risks (41%) and increasing sustainability requirements (38%). These areas reflect expanding regulatory expectations and the growing complexity of autonomous systems and digital platforms.