In-depth coverage of potential JEDI scandals and whether tech moguls are capturing defense officials. Who doesn’t like a winner-take-all contract when you have a good chance at winning?
“Darpa sent out a tweet today that’s making people a little nervous. The agency wants a large underground facility for “testing” of some sort. And they need it by Friday at 5pm ET.” That is, they sent out the request on Aug. 28 and wanted responses by Aug. 30. Highly irregular for the DOD. Multiply that timeline by 30, and it is still a lightning fast turnaround… for the DOD.
DARPA’s latest pursuit? Stealth gliders that dissolve when exposed to sunlight.
“… prize competitions represent an effective abdication of public oversight and public policymaking. Instead of doing the hard work to build an enduring political coalition, prize competitions seek to avoid the messy but important role of democratic oversight, turning the public treasury into nothing more than a lottery to be paid out to a select few who can even compete.”
The TechLash goes both ways: Palantir forced out of job fair after outcry over [gov’t] ICE contracts.
Could be important: Pentagon Allowing Subsystems to Leverage Rapid Prototyping Authorities, Different Cyber Standards.
Possibly related: Navy Prefers Fielding ‘Revolutionary’ Combat Capability Through New Weapons Rather than New Hull Designs. Trending back towards component-focused developments. Not every capability requires a new platform.
Useful information about AFWERX and SBIR.
William Roper keeps it interesting. Air Force RPA chief wants to reduce acquisition costs using Century Series concept.
No doubt: Contractors’ have questions about the DOD’s cyber requirements.
“Ford overshot its budget to $13 billion — twice as expensive as the last Nimitz and equivalent to Iran’s reported 2018 defense budget.” The claim is that Congressional mandates for 12 supercarriers is a bad policy. A counter is that the Navy went about the Ford carrier in about the most speculative and expensive way possible.
Who says huge multi-year procurements save you time and money? “SpaceX and Blue Origin both have already taken legal action against the Air Force, arguing that it has failed to create a level playing field for them and other companies to be able to challenge heavily favored ULA.”
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