Contract challenges for modular open systems
Typically, a small percentage of the overall profit on a major defense system comes from software development. At the same time, the future upgrade and […]
Month: May 2020
Schriever, the Atlas ICBM, and the question of concurrency
In July 1954 the Scientific Advisory Board had recommended developing an alternative missile to the Atlas. This recommendation was motivated by fear that the pressurization […]
More Air Force success turning manual processes into software, TRON/BESPIN
Scheduling training for C-17 Globemaster III pilots and crew is about to get easier with the launch of Puckboard, a data-powered software application to plan […]
Why are defense programs so big?
Mother Nature does not like anything too big… Mother Nature does not limit the interactions between entities; it just limits the size of its units… […]
Problem curation and lean methodology with Pete Newell
Pete Newell joined me on the Acquisition Talk podcast to discuss a range of issues around problem curation and lean methodology. He is the CEO […]
Anduril shows off very cool capabilities for ABMS
As we look at how we close kill chains, there’s very much a man in the loop at every single point. That process today takes […]
Acquisition headlines
US Air Force bails on Mattis-era fighter jet readiness goal. Abandoned 80 percent mission-capable rates. Let’s say you increase force structure to 386 squadrons at […]
Accelerating software development by orders of magnitude
While some of these programs are classified, others have been able to share their results. For instance, the United Platform is working to push cyber […]
Please bring back the Rapid Innovation Fund — and fund it well!
The architect of the Navy’s RIF [Rapid Innovation Fund] program, Brad Pantuck, was at the event as well. He said, “About 40 percent of our […]
Creating high-reliability organizations in the Department of Defense
High-reliability organizations are an example of a topic that I believe has not received attention in military history. Sociologist Charles Perrow’s Normal Accidents was published […]
How much oomph is left in rapid acquisition reform?
We’ve seen this pendulum swing drastically over the last few decades. In the middle of the 20th Century we saw thousands of companies iteratively delivering […]
6 pathways and 14 functional areas to make up new acquisition policy framework
A presentation by ASD(Acquisition) Kevin Fahey to the advisory board for George Mason’s Center for Government Contracting went into the details of the AAF and […]
Frank Kendall fires a shot across the bow of CMMC
The CMMC [Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification] Accreditation Body’s website shows an estimate that there will need to be 10,000 licensed Assessors trained and working full time […]
Acquisition headlines (5/3/2020)
‘I Could Solve Most of Your Problems’: Eric Schmidt’s Pentagon Offensive. New report says SLS rocket managers concerned about fuel leaks. NASA invested 10 years […]
Technical progress requires a political process assuming diverse and legitimate interests
It is seldom contended that politics and technology are not separate endeavors and, indeed, that politics is not primary. But if the distinction is to […]