Rapid Defense Experimentation Reserve (RDER) FY 2023 update
Matt MacGregor had an interesting post on the state of DoD innovation funds, but the Rapid Defense Experimentation Reserve (RDER) was a bit more difficult […]
Blog Posts
Podcast: The next generation of defense primes with Matt Steckman and Trae Stephens
Matt Steckman and Trae Stephens joined me on the Acquisition Talk podcast to discuss their approach at Anduril Industries to scaling up in defense. Matt […]
The downfall of Southwest Airlines and management lessons for defense
Here’s a viral Facebook post from 35-year Southwest Airlines pilot Larry Lonero: Herb Kelleher was the brilliant CEO of SWA until 2004. He was a […]
Acquisition headlines (12/26/2022 – 1/1/2023)
Fairly accounting for weapons in Ukraine. (The Hill) “… that $50 billion [provided to Ukraine] will be under politically motivated investigation by a Republican House […]
The indispensable man of the Pentagon
Here’s an excerpt from Samuel Huntington’s classic 1959 book, The Soldier and the State: The principal antagonist of the Joint Chiefs within the central defense […]
How were projects selected for the APFIT fund to field innovative tech?
The Accelerate the Procurement and Fielding of Innovative Technologies (APFIT) fund was one of the bright spots from FY 2022. It provided $100 million to […]
Podcast: USD R&E priorities for defense tech with Heidi Shyu
At the 2022 GMU-DAU annual conference, the Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (USD R&E) Heidi Shyu joined us to discuss her priorities, approaches, […]
Problem areas in software and facilities modernization
Here are a couple interesting excerpts from former deputy Comptroller Don Shycoff’s book, The Business of Defense: Historically, procurement appropriations funded equipment for DOD support […]
Acquisition headlines (12/19 – 12/25/2022)
L3Harris Technologies to acquire Aerojet Rocketdyne for a value of $5.7 billion, after Lockheed Martin failed to do so. (Fl360Aero) “the acquisition of Aerojet would […]
Expertise in program management takes longer than three years
Here’s an excerpt from a 1970 congressional report by the Committee on Government Operations: “Policy Changes in Weapon System Procurement.” At the time, David Packard […]
How DoD’s budget process keeps it on the wrong side of the ‘valley of death’
Here is a slice from an article by Jared Serbu recapping a discussion with Jerry McGinn and myself: In fiscal year 1956, the Army didn’t […]
Why is there a reluctance to invest in shipbuilding despite record budgets?
There was an interesting exchange at the 2022 Reagan National Defense Forum where Senator Wicker was discussing adding funding for defense and shipbuilding in particular […]
Podcast: Managing Portfolios to Bridge DoD’s Valley of Death
I hosted a panel event with the the newly named Baroni Center for Government Contracting to discuss our recent report on how funding flexibility can […]
Acquisition headlines (12/12 – 12/18/2022)
Lawmakers aim to deep-six Pentagon wish lists. (Roll Call) “These wish lists have become the Pentagon’s primary tool to boost an already excessive top line, […]
What is portfolio management and how can it speed up defense tech insertion
Jerry McGinn and I joined Vago Muradian on the Defense and Aerospace report to discuss our recent webinar event with James Ruocco, Katie Wheelbarger, and […]