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, […]
Industry
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 […]
Are multiyear contracts really a super-saver in acquisition?
Bill Greenwalt and Mackenzie Eaglen advocate for greater use of multiyear contracting to help solve supply chain troubles and pricing in an inflationary environment. Here’s […]
Consortia-based OTAs larger, but slower growing than stand-alone OTA
The same day I dropped the podcast on Stephanie Halcrow and Moshe Schwartz’s event on industry consortia, the GAO released its own report Other Transaction […]
Will inflation cause a $110 billion loss in DoD buying power between FY21-FY23?
A new paper from recent AcqTalk guest John Whitley and two PPBE Reform commissioners David Norquist and Lisa Disbrow has been released: “How Inflation Hurts […]
DoDIG report on Other Transactions sends mixed messages
DoD Inspector General has a new report: Audit of DoD Other Transactions and the Use of Nontraditional Contractors and Resource Sharing. Here are the findings: […]
How AI/ML margins differ from traditional software
Here’s a good segment from the a16z podcast discussing how AI/ML companies are different than traditional software in terms of margins. Ultimately, what matters most […]
How the geometry of investing in defense startups is different
Here’s a few slices from a great Venture Stories podcast with Alex Moore, an investor at 8VC and before that he was one of the […]
Making it easier to do business with allies and scale new tech
Jerry McGinn and Bill Greenwalt spoke with Vago Muradian on the Defense and Aerospace Report on building industrial resilience. First up is Jerry — executive […]
Epirus’ CEO on high powered microwaves, valley of death, and working with primes
Here’s a conversation with Epirus CEO Leigh Madden on the DefAero report with Vago Muradian. Epirus is building a software-define microwave system that can quickly […]
Air Force supply chains are not ready to surge for war
Here’s a slice from an Aviation Week article, USAF Logistics Chief Raises Urgent Warning On Surge Capacity: A recent internal study shows more than nine out […]
Does DoD not actually want startups to win programs of record?
Here’s the excellent Steve Blank on the Village’s Solarpunk podcast, Rebuilding the Department of Defense. Everyone’s talking about the PPBE — Planning, Programming, Budgeting, Execution. […]
Anduril grows revenue to $150M in its first five years
There’s a new article from The Generalist Reader called Anduril: The Business of Defense. Tons of interest on the background and offerings the company has […]
DoD’s requirements process falling short: The case of explosive materials
Michienzi said the U.S. industrial base does not have the surge capacity to replenish munitions stocks quickly, and one of the constraints is the production […]
Deep tech development strategies and imperatives for DoD reform
Here is AJ Piplica, CEO of the hypersonic vehicles company Hermeus, on the Venture Stories podcast discussing the importance of generating revenue ahead of the […]