Pentagon reshuffles R&D priorities. “We’ve made a lot of progress in hypersonics,” said Mark Lewis, director of defense research and engineering for modernization. “We love them all the same, but our No. 1 priority, frankly, right now is microelectronics.”
USS Gerald Ford EMALS launching system suffers fault during testing period. Here’s how to flip the narrative: “The ship’s response to these EMALS challenges underscores our ability to identify and to correct issues impacting flight operations quickly.” Having the crew continually deal with technical problems makes the “ship and air wing team better and more effective.”
Recommended: Ursa Major Technologies wants outsourcing engines to be the norm. Interesting throughout. “Our Hadley engine is about 80 percent additively manufactured by mass… A rocket engine is on the U.S. Munitions List… the longest lead-time part is about six months. So it might take about six months to build an engine.”
Boeing defense sales surge. Led by the Harpoon missiles, Ground Based Missile Defense, and the P-8 Posidon. “During the month of May, Boeing received almost $3B in Defense and Services contracts, of which 98% was awarded… With Boeing Commercial Airplanes not performing well, Boeing Defense, Space & Security (BDS) is indeed becoming more prominent in the mix, and we are seeing a renewed focus on the Defense side of Boeing’s business.”
DoD Agile software development still to slow: GAO. “while 22 claimed to be using agile methods, only six actually met the private-sector standard of delivering software updates to users every six weeks — at most.” You’ve gotta be kidding me. The GAO bashing programs with one hand for not being agile, and then bashing them with the other hand for not doing a slew of waterfall processes that make agile impossible!
GAO: Cyber Command is overspending on data tools. Unified Platform may cost 5x as much as originally estimated, and didn’t have a cost estimate, approved requirements, or a schedule risk assessment at time of initiation… More of the same gripes, and nothing about whether it performs.
Losing market share and damaging national security due to anachronistic drone policy. “In a nutshell, the MTCR treats large drones as if they were nuclear missiles — which they are not.”
US Air Force’s Nicholas Chaillan on DevSecOps in the DoD. “A CIO in the government, unfortunately, is also not empowered the way a CIO is empowered on the commercial side. Many times they end up being policy shops and not being able to execute the work or manage the people, or even pick the people or hire.”
Aerospace Nation: Dr. Will Roper, AF AT&L. “… including innovative small businesses in critical technology areas through initiatives like the Digital Century Series and Quantum Collider.”
CMMC and the three “Cs”: cost, conflicts, and competition. Read the whole thing if interesting in CMMC impacts. “DOD officials have stated publicly that CMMC costs are allowable, but that statement is too broad for contractors to rely on. To begin with, there is a wide range of costs that could be considered CMMC costs…”
It’s not the plane, it’s the payload: a 21st century solution for armed overwatch. “What the US special operations command needs: the case for loitering munitions.” Note that the Senate plans to block SOCOM from buying the light-attack planes until the Air Force verifies it won’t or can’t do it.
Five things you should know about cost overruns. From the excellent Bent Flyvbjerg. “1. What is cost overrun, and how is it measured? 2. Which data are used to establish cost overrun? 3. What is the size and frequency of cost overrun? 4. What are the root causes of cost overrun? 5. How is cost overrun best avoided?”
In case you haven’t heard, the Air Force and DARPA just had an accident. “During a test flight the HAWC missile in question somehow separated from the pylon mating it to the B-52 delivery plane.”
A little known hypersonic weapon gets an unlikely reveal on twitter. ” A Powerpoint slide describing the “Vintage Racer” weapon was caught in a photo of the Secretary of the Army at the 2019 Association of the U.S. Army convention.”
More on Vintage Racer: Pentagon has tested a suicide drone that gets to its target area at hypersonic speed. “The project successfully validated aerodynamic design with wind tunnel testing and integrated a guidance subsystem for targeted kinetic effects before culminating in a FY 2019 flight test.”
Agilefall: the place between agile and waterfall development where most agencies live. No doubt! “When you see solicitations are still very schedule- and cost-driven with 5% or 10% variance requirements, configuration management plans and all those things that scream of IT development lifecycles, then you know the agency hasn’t made the move to agile.”
Chinese FC-31 stealth fighter to possibly enter service in the PLA Navy. ” Now painted in a silver-grey coating, its development is making smooth progress, experts said on Monday.”
Zirconium, titanium, rare earths refining technology funded by Korea. “Australian Strategic Materials announced that its Korean partner, Zirconium Technology Corporation, was awarded $4.5 million in grants by the Korean government to be used in the development of the companies’ joint venture.” US rare earth DPA Title III efforts seem to be stalled…
Rocket lab successfully launches its 12th Electron, carrying NASAS and NRO payloads. “Rocket Lab has been gearing up for significant expansion of its launch capabilities.”
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