“We have to be comfortable as taxpayers funding production lines to produce things that the US may never use. And that’s something that we as a country have to struggle with,” said Pentagon acquisition chief Bill LaPlante.
By Valerie InsinnaGray Eagle is the low-cost, low-risk answer to Army modernization
Gray Eagle STOL and Gray Eagle 25M are the best options for Army aviation as it assesses where to move from its current inflection point.
“But I think it’s going to be the led by the new Chief [Digital] and AI Officer, Craig Martell, who comes to us from industry and has a very good technical background,” Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said. “Hopefully he’ll be able to help pull it together. But there’s a definite need to do that.”
By Jaspreet Gill
However the tech-focused small business program proceeds, some lawmakers are calling for change in how SBIR operates, according to documents obtained by Breaking Defense.
By Jaspreet Gill
When it comes to MTAs, Eric Lofgren, a defense acquisition specialist at George Mason University, told Breaking Defense that “GAO and OSD seem to be struggling with how to baseline and conduct oversight of these programs.”
By Theresa Hitchens
So far, Boeing has lost $1.1 billion dollars on its original $3.9 billion fixed-price development contract for the VC-25B.
By Valerie Insinna
Future wars may force the services to become more distributed and less reliant on major installations where power sources are available, which in turn “put[s] a premium on capabilities with longer range, time on station, endurance and the ability to adapt to evolving energy needs and technology.”
By Valerie Insinna
In his new role, Bill LaPlante will oversee hundreds of billions of dollars in procurement spending as the Pentagon’s acquisition enterprise, as well as a wide-ranging portfolio that includes the defense industrial base and supply chain, the sustainment of legacy equipment, logistics, installations and environment.
By Valerie Insinna
A new approach to speed, scale and efficiency for the industrial base
Radars, EW, EO/IR, space imagery, and microelectronics are brought under one roof for a streamlined approach to common people and factories.
Doug Bush, assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition, logistics and technology, also called Congressional funding reductions on the Army’s IVAS “frankly just good oversight.”
By Jaspreet Gill “I believe we need multiple hot production lines, whether that be munitions, [unmanned aerial systems] and the like,” said Bill LaPlante, nominated to be the Pentagon’s acquisition czar. “They — up by themselves — are a deterrent, and we need to put much more focus on that across the board.”
By Valerie Insinna LaPlante served as the Air Force’s top acquisition official from 2013 to 2015.
By Aaron Mehta
Most of the system that allows the president to launch nuclear weapons and to know what the enemy is doing with theirs is ancient. No one yet agrees what it must replaced with. And no one knows how much it will cost, although late last month the Congressional Budget Office issued an estimate of $77 billion.
By Colin Clark
WASHINGTON: Tired of complaining about space programs that are over budget and behind schedule? Build a space version of the Air Force’s Rapid Capabilities Office. Oh, and just go out there and lead. You don’t need a Space Corps to fix what ails the space enterprise, former Air Force Space Commander Bob Kehler told a…
By Colin Clark
The Pentagon acquisition system has gotten so bad that it is undermining the nation’s military and literally obstructing modernization efforts, a panel of independent advisers told the House Armed Services Committee today. Representatives of the congressionally-mandated “809 panel” painted an alarming picture of the state of defense procurement. The panel delivered an interim report to the…
By Sandra Erwin
WASHINGTON: Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh made clear today that, while his service will make its arguments for modernization programs such as the JSTARS replacement, F-35 and Long Range Strike Bomber, the Defense Secretary and the combatant commanders will make the final decisions. The military’s latest and highest profile program, the Long Range Strike…
By Colin Clark
