CVN-78 completed a record 167 aircraft launches & recoveries in a single day. “For comparisons, the existing Nimitz-class with its steam catapults can sustain 120/240 sorties per day.”
Joint AI Center turns to the Air Force cloudONE as JEDI stalls. “Founded in summer 2018 with just four staff, JAIC has now grown to 175 personnel (counting contractors) and must keep growing, Shanahan said.”
US lawmakers unveil bold $100 billion plan to remake the National Science Foundation. Recommended. The biggest part is for prototypes of commercially viable products, representing a big “cultural shift”. A detractor argues: “Federal funding for applied technology research and development should be need-based and channeled through mission agencies.”
Space Force’s plan for cyber warriors. “The Space Force at first is looking at bringing in about 130 cyber officers and around 1,000 enlisted members… Schriever [AFB, Colorado] will stand up the equivalent of a cyber wing, run by a colonel.”
Hellebore Consulting Group Awarded $950M ABMS Contract. What’s the deal with this massive ceiling, more than 3x ABMS’s FY 2021 request for $302 million? I have many speculations and no clue what strategy this indicates. Maybe there was one hell of a demo: “The technology we have proposed for ABMS is a generational leap over what our adversaries are capable of,“ said John Farrier, CEO.
GSA awards alliant 2 joint warfighter task order. This is a 5-year, $800 million task order to Booz Allen-Hamilton for artificial intelligence. So much for engaging non-traditionals. Maybe the most convenient route?
Navy builds 10 new heavily armed frigate warships. “The ship will be manned with a crew of up to 200 sailors, Navy officials say. A follow-on deal is planned for 2026.”
Podcast: Interview with SpaceX’s Elon Musk.
Rick Dunn discusses: Other Transactions – Can they be protested? Here’s a head scratcher: “Think of the private sector where if you’re bidding on an effort with a customer and you lose, then you sue your customer. I mean, it doesn’t really sound like a very good business strategy, but it happens in the federal government procurement system all the time.”
Rep Mike Gallagher’s NEW Look Podcast that looks very interesting, and most recently features Defense Innovation Unit’s Mike Brown.
Coronavirus should spur DoD to build back resilience and agility. “More broadly, the DoD and the US government should consider establishing a model to establish and fund contracts similar to the US Transportation Command’s civilian reserve air-fleet (CRAF) for augmentation in time of national emergency and capability shortfalls. An example would be to have contracts with industry in areas such as additive manufacturing with the ability to scale.”
The first long-distance drone deliveries in the US are bringing PPE to healthcare workers.
The vicious cycle continues: F-35 costs drop for building jets but rise for operating them. Acquisition costs are down 7.1%, while the 2x+ larger O&S costs rose 7.8%.
Why the Government needs to create a $10B venture fund for AI. Pretty interesting proposal for mobilizing capital, but should gov’t be taking equity itself from the companies which are its own suppliers? Other sources of capital will flow in only if investors think defense will pay off.
Air Force: Report on space acquisition reforms ‘not finalized’.
China’s FC-31 stealth fighter jet making new progress, photos show. It’s now silver! “… the new painting could be a sign that the FC-31 was testing its stealth capability and low-observability against the naked eye.” Speculative throughout.
Government becoming a more nimble, secure software factory. “… research consistently shows over the past three years that about half of developers know security is important, but don’t have time to spend on it.”
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