Less than 12 Parsecs: Lessons from Kessel Run

A Case Study in Successful Adoption of a Defense Advanced Computing Program

Good morning,

Last week, we explored why Project Maven succeeded where so many Pentagon AI initiatives failed. It focused on the right problem, used the right pattern of AI, had strong champions, and leaned into public-private collaboration.

But Maven isn’t the only success story.

Another standout—often overlooked outside of defense circles—is Kessel Run, the U.S. Air Force’s flagship software innovation unit. Unlike Project Maven, which was about applying machine learning to ISR, Kessel Run is about transforming how the Department of Defense designs, builds, and ships software itself.

And while it may not carry the same mystique as “AI-enabled targeting,” Kessel Run quietly accomplished something just as challenging and important: it forced the Pentagon to rethink its relationship with software.