Cybersecurity requirements in RFIs by June 2020, RFPs by October — Here are some challenges
CMMC version 1.0 will start rolling out in RFIs in June 2020. There will be cyber requirements, CMMC levels, in RFIs. Companies will have to […]
Industry
Should the DoD reject dual-use and organically grow new defense firms?
“In terms of how to build a startup and how to scale really fast, you can’t have two missions,” said Katherine Boyle, an investor with […]
Is it an embarrassment how the US Air Force treated SpaceX?
I’ll tell you, what SpaceX had to do to effectively do business with the United States Air Force embarrassed us in public. No service secretary […]
Does category management push against small business?
The government’s going to move in the direction it wants regardless of industry feedback… The objective of category management is to get better pricing. By […]
Why are OTAs plagued by references to FAR clauses?
One of the biggest failures of FAR 12 [commercial] contracting has been DoD’s unwillingness to proactively use these commercial of a type procedures because of […]
EVMS is not well suited to an Agile environment
Problem: DoD established use of EVM as a requirement for periodically measuring linear programs with firm baselines established prior to starting development. EVM is not […]
Proof that government is an unattractive customer
Even sticker-shock prices don’t always motivate companies. According to our estimates, more than 10,000 parts requests are delayed or unfilled each year despite our reluctant […]
Palmer Luckey talks defense industry and China
I think the West has created something incredible. We’ve had a period of unprecedented peace and unprecedented human rights. It’s not perfect, but it’s better […]
Two issues holding the Pentagon back from commercial “deep tech”
After cashing in from relatively simple internet applications like Facebook, Snapchat and others, entrepreneurs have started tackling harder problems. “Deep tech” requires significant capital and […]
Must contractors build an internal program office to comply with CMMC?
Richard Beutel: The feedback were getting from the companies is that the DOD is pushing a lot of the administrative and policy development back on […]
New Pentagon IP chief and unresolved questions
The Pentagon’s new director of intellectual property began work last week focused on standing up a “cadre” of experts who can advise and train defense […]
Big changes might be ahead to simplify commercial buying
On Wednesday, November 27, the Department of Defense (DoD) published a proposed rule that simplifies the acquisition of commercial products to meet military requirements. Two […]
ULA mostly advocates for the status quo regulations in launch
ULA enjoys a good working relationship with the FAA and addresses licensing issues with the agency in real-time… The FAA is doing an excellent job […]
Commercial launch faces conflicting regulations that slows technology growth
The FAA rules specific to ELVs [Expendable Launch Vehicles] are a voluminous set of prescriptive and detailed regulations. FAA promulgated these ELV regulations almost 15 […]
What did we learn from the use of OTA contracts in the 1990s?
In 1994, Congress authorized use of Other Transactions (OT) for the development of prototypes “directly relevant to weapons or weapon systems.” Under this authority, projects […]