How would Michele Flournoy manage the DoD?
Central to the plan is paying for it all [Michele] Flournoy identifies “over-investing in legacy platforms and weapon systems” as the impediment. Candidate Biden, likely […]
Blog Posts
Is continuous testing the key to SpaceX software success?
In modern space flight, mission critical systems are becoming increasingly dependent on software controls for performing critical functions. Unfortunately, software failures are one of the most dominant […]
How to attract and retain the defense STEM workforce
In lieu of better data, it is easy to conclude that the defense enterprise struggles to recruit and retain STEM talent because it does not […]
How the military almost lost all funding for basic research
What the Bureau of the Budget actually proposed when it made these reductions was that the military services get out of basic research entirely. Indeed, […]
Key to defense innovation — making the 21st century institutionally legible
Luke Constable: I don’t know how deep into accounting you are, there is a metric that’s really commonly used called EBITDA. And effectively, it is […]
The Air Force ‘Internet of Things’ program gets reorganized
According to a memo sent from Roper to the Air Force’s acquisition workforce Tuesday, the chief architect will remain responsible for codifying ABMS [Advanced Battle […]
Acquisition headlines
GAO: Aircraft Mission Capable Rates Generally Did Not Meet Goals and Cost of Sustaining Selected Weapon Systems Varied Widely. “We found that of the 46 […]
Why cost accounting does not guarantee efficiency
But accurate accounts will not guarantee efficiency. Even if — as is unlikely to be the case [Sourwine 1993; 1994]– the service supplier’s financial and […]
How should government own the technical baseline?
In 1989, Kodak contracted with IBM to outsource its IT operations, creating the IT outsourcing industry. Kodak’s IT outsourcing proved disastrous. With a 10-year, $250 […]
Origins of weapon systems stovepiping
Practitioners of systems analysis naturally did not aspire to such comprehensiveness, but, as will be demonstrated, the technique of systems analysis does imply it. Since […]
A meta analysis of industrial mobilization
Francis: You’re inference at the end of this piece, “It’s time to make industrial mobilization cool again,” infers that there was a time when it […]
The role of blockchain in military cybersecurity
On a great new podcast, Commercial Innovation for Defense, Mark Goode asks blockchain entrepreneur Michael Lewellen about the military’s work on bringing together a common […]
Tech competition in China and the United States with Michael Brown
In this special crossover episode with ChinaTalk podcast host Jordan Schneider, we interview director of the Defense Innovation Unit Michael Brown. We touch on a […]
Acquisition headlines
DoD has promising tech. Now it’s time to scale it up, officials say. “Michèle Flournoy, widely believed to be President-elect Joe Biden’s top pick to […]
The days when 3-5 years for fighter aircraft development was too long
In the judgment of the committee, the services unnecessarily complicated those relationships with “meticulous supervision” exercised through restrictive procedures that badly needed simplifying. In addition […]