The separation of software development [funding] into research, development, test and evaluation (RDT&E), procurement, and operations & maintenance (O&M) appropriations — and the use of cost-based triggers within each acquisition category — causes delays and places artificial limitations on the program management office’s ability to quickly meet changing needs, resulting in increased lifetime cost of software and slower deployment.
That was from the Defense Innovation Board’s final SWAP study. For FY 2021, it looks like the Pentagon will have its new budget appropriation specially for software. It will be a pilot, but can have huge impacts.
Here’s some recent DIB reactions to the new software appropriation: “I don’t know [if] I am reasonably confident anything complicated will go through,” Murray said. “It is a hard lift.” And here’s the original Federal News Network article announcing the software appropriation.
There are supposedly 9 software programs within the new appropriation. Not sure why the articles didn’t report on which programs were included and their total budget. By my count reviewing the FY 2021 budget request, there are only 8 programs listed. A new one may have potentially come up in the meantime. Below, I summarize the program element numbers, names, and budget requests (in $K).
RDT&E Budget Activity 6.8, Software and Digital Technology Pilot Programs
Total: 696,736 (reported figure, by my count from summing the program elements it is 696,372)
Air Force: 149,742
- 1203614F JSpOC Mission System — 149,742
Defense-Wide: 475,381
- 0608197V National Background Investigation Services – Software Pilot Program — 121,676
- 0608648D8Z Acquisition Visibility Pilot Program – Software — 16,848
- 0303150K Global Command and Control System (DARPA) — 86,750
- 0308588D8Z Algorithmic Warfare Cross Functional Teams – Software Pilot Program — 250,107
Navy: 25,168
- 0608231N Maritime Tactical Command and Control (MTC2) – Software Pilot Program — 10,868
- 0608013N Risk Management Information Software Pilot Program — 14,300
Army: 46,445
- 0608041A Defensive CYBER – Software Prototype Development — 46,445
__________________
A few observations
Location in the Budget: It’s probably most convenient that the new appropriation was put underneath RDT&E, though its supposed to be “colorless” — i.e., without distinction to RDT&E, procurement, and O&M. Certainly a new top-level appropriation for a pilot account with less than $700 million is not reasonable. But I wonder whether the intention is — if successful in the pilot phase — the appropriation will get broken out of RDT&E as a new “color of money” with significant sums.
Project Maven: Another observation is that the largest 6.8 software pilot program is over $250 million for Algorithmic Warfare Cross Functional Teams, which contains Project Maven. In FY 2020, the plan had capabilities of automatically detecting and geo-locating people, vehicles and buildings, tracking objects in motion, and capturing training data for AI improvements. The plan is to roll it out to 40 sites for Tactical UAV, MC1-C and MQ-9. For FY 2021, the capabilities will be expanded to numerous other platforms, including high altitude UAVs, ISR platforms, Captured Enemy Material, Acoustical Intelligence, and Overhead Persistent Infrared program.
Little Near-Term Change? This is all great. But it’s not clear how the new 6.8 software appropriation helps the renamed Project Maven, which had budget transferred from BA 6.6 to BA 6.8. It doesn’t seem that O&M funds supporting Project Maven were added to the new account, with the same number decremented from O&M. Perhaps in future budgets, the new software appropriation will save the project — and others like it — from multiple funding. But since O&M accounts are not delineated by program elements, it’s not clear how much O&M funding is supporting Project Maven and other 6.8 software pilot programs. I’m quite sure the number isn’t zero.
ABMS: I wonder why the Air Force’s Advanced Battle Management System (ABMS) isn’t a pilot program. Perhaps it’s too high profile and they don’t want to distract the software appropriation effort. The FY 2021 request for ABMS is $302 million, which would have made it the largest pilot if included.
Budget Flexibility: Finally, this adds flexibility for existing software programs. But this form of budget flexibility does not help new programs start, ramp up, or get cancelled in a quick manner. That would require aggregation of program elements into more meaningful categories such that they could be treated as a portfolio.
Leave a Reply