Founder vs. Inheritance and other deep problems of DoD innovation
Here are some slices from an epic podcast with Balaji Srinivasan and Lex Fridman: How to Fix Government, Twitter, Science, and the FDA. The US […]
Blog Posts
The Ever Shrinking Fighting Force: Excerpts from Punaro’s book
Here are some excerpts from MG Arnold Punaro’s recent book, The Ever Shrinking Fighting Force. It is packed with data on how costs have increased […]
Data on tech transition success to SBIR Phase III in the Air Force
Here’s an article in the Defense Acquisition Review Journal, Innovation Transition Success: Practice Doesn’t Make Perfect. A SBIR project is considered successful when the product […]
SpaceX’s speed to market is fast and getting faster. NASA… not so much.
Here’s the excellent Bent Flyvbjerg and Atif Ansar’s latest article, Speed-to-Market for SpaceX and NASA. Note that the efforts tracked by Bent include Falcon 1, […]
Acquisition headlines (10/24 – 10/30/2022)
Last chance to register for GMU/DAU Conference on Friday, November 4, 2022! Register here. Fireside Chat 1: Bridging the Valley of Death with USD A&S […]
Podcast: Industrial policy to counter China with Emily de la Bruyere
I was pleased to have Emily de la Bruyere join me on the Acquisition Talk podcast. She’s a co-founder of Horizon Advisory, a geopolitical consultancy, […]
Sources of defense tech transition funding
Here are some excerpts from the Data section of our newest report, Execution Flexibility and Bridging the Valley of Death. First, we have a figure […]
Has the bureaucratization of knowledge made government less effective?
Here’s an excerpt from Tyler Cowen’s conversation with Walter Russell Mead on American Foreign Policy. Tyler asks whether the State Department or the CIA understand […]
Bridging the “Valley of Death” in DoD does not require new laws!
Execution flexibility is DoD jargon for delegated authority to move money. It is the most direct way to increase decision speed. Since 1960, execution flexibility […]
Acquisition headlines (10-17 – 10/23/2022)
Software engineers could show the Pentagon how to end ‘innovation theater.’ (The Hill) “Instead of devoting all its resources to the testing milestone when a […]
Is French military procurement more efficient because politics stays out?
The Rand Corporation’s Thomas McNaugher, for example, has long rejected the economists’ common assertion that the root of the acquisition problem is found in a […]
Starlink, Ukraine, and the challenges of a market economy going to war
Around 20,000 Starlink satellite units have been donated to Ukraine since the Russian invasion in February, playing an important role in battlefield communication for Kyiv’s […]
Was the SR-71 produced at a lower cost than the F-35?
Here is more the Hermeus Podcast episode with with former Air Force pilot and general Robert Behler on the SR-71. He provides some management lessons […]
The five big inventions of the SR-71
Here is a slice from the excellent Hermeus Podcast, with former Air Force pilot and general Robert Behler. He flew the SR-71 Blackbird, and provides […]
Acquisition headlines (10/10 – 10/16/2022)
Collins set for top GOP spot on defense appropriations panel. (Military.com) “Defense issues have long been a major concern for Collins…That is not least because […]