Acquisition headlines
Aerospace companies wary of digital design revolution. “With a flattening budget topline (at best) and many competing Air Force investment priorities, it’s not at all […]
Month: November 2020
The state of blockchain in defense tech
The Committee is aware that distributed ledger technologies, such as blockchain, may have potentially useful applications for the Department of Defense, which include but are […]
Podcast: Intellectual Property in Defense Contracts
In this special episode of the Acquisition Talk podcast, we listen in to a great conversation on intellectual property in defense. The panel is moderated […]
Transcripts: Intellectual property in defense contracts
GMU Intellectual Property Webinar, Nov 5 2020 Links: Video of the event. Listen to the audio on Acquisition Talk. Here’s a write-up. Moderator: Jim Hasik […]
Are Appropriators blocking defense transformation?
I recommend reading a nice Breaking Defense article, Senate Appropriators Cut R&D To Buy More Weapons. The SAC-D recommended that the Air Force and Navy […]
Why I push back on the “colorless” appropriation for software
One of the hot topics in defense reform is the new Budget Activity 6.8 (or just 8), a “colorless” appropriation for Software and Digital Technology […]
Will Roper wants to end the “trickle down” economics of defense contracting
Let me quickly break some things down. When we entered into the late Cold War and systems for the military especially the Air Force became […]
The DoD acquisition is deterministic — it needs an overhaul
One of the things that the Department has an issue with is putting something out there really fast and really bad just because we need […]
How to hack the DoD innovation system — probably not serious
In a recent post, I argued that DoD programs require long-term predictions about costs and requirements that get locked in as a “baseline.” But once […]
Acquisition headlines (11/1 – 11/7/2020)
Submarine industrial base ready to grow — but only in Pentagon, Congress send the right signals. “… the supply base and the two shipyards struggled […]
Policy is not made once and for all; it is made and re-made endlessly
Policy is not made once and for all; it is made and re-made endlessly. Policy-making is a process of successive approximation to some desired objectives […]
Can Roper break the link between R&D and production? The case of NGAD
“NGAD could take the form of a single aircraft and/or a number of complementary systems – manned, unmanned, optionally manned, cyber, electronic forms that would […]
Defense industry financial performance during COVID-19, third quarter update
Government contractors were not immune to the economic disruption brought on by COVID-19. There are more than 50,000 contractors doing business directly with the Department […]
How the US won World War II with economic policy
It is hard for us to imagine today how such an entrepreneurial spirit could co-exist with war mobilization, but one did. One reason, of course, […]
Where are the Democrats on defense policy?
With the presidential election happening today, the big question (for this blog) is how defense acquisition policy will differ based on the outcomes. My view […]