Rapidly accelerating Chinese weapons tech
China has become a global space power after decades of investment. According to the 2015 U.S. DoD Annual Report to Congress, China’s progress in the […]
Technology
The Defense Department was never intended to innovate?
Innovation leaders often cite Eastman-Kodak as an example of an enterprise that was too dim-witted to see the writing on the wall and so fell from its […]
Software generates requirements that pulls hardware into the future
Software is very different. It’s not, “I’m going to do a new mode of production that’s going to do more with less.” It’s, “I’m going […]
John Boyd and the development of EM theory
Boyd is, however, a controversial figure. Among USAF officers, Boyd is either loved or hated. Hammond’s introduction refers to him as ‘legendary,’ ‘a great original […]
Battista on the ill-conceived OMB Circular A-109
We join an interesting conversation between Mr. Battista, a Pentagon watchdog and test advocate, and Representative Sheley. They are discussing the recent roll-out of OMB […]
Rickover and the symmetry of intellectual property
The President’s memorandum attempted to strike a middle ground between a “title” policy and a “license” policy. The “title” policy is based on the precept […]
High performance computing to solve acquisition?
Enter HPCMP, the High Performance Computing Modernization Program. HPCMP provides the DoD with massive supercomputing capabilities and all classes of networks to transport data, as […]
“Safe” proposals are the riskiest possible
“You bet on the Patriots in 2007 and, by gosh, in 2037 you’re still going to bet on the Patriots. And eventually you just go […]
Only the highly efficient can burden inefficient processes
“It is a good thing that we are a rich country, because poorer countries just could not afford to waste this kind of money,” the […]
Where should DARPA focus its innovation?
DARPA has no doubt stimulated many important innovations over the past 60 plus years, from the internet and GPS to drones and autonomous vehicles. But […]
Improving system resilience through falsification
In a previous post, I discussed system resilience and its relationship to risk. Here, I want to provide a way of building systems that are […]
Resilience, the other side of risk
We all want our systems to exhibit resiliency, whether they are organizations, airplanes, or our human bodies. Here’s a good definition of resilience: … the […]
Did the JLTV do sufficient Operational Evaluation?
Soldiers with the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division at Fort Stewart in Georgia received the first of its 500 JLTVs on Jan. 14. A […]
Can the F-35 take the place of the A-10?
Retaining the A-10 will help the Air Force to preserve to preserve the Warthog community’s hard won close air support skills and expertise. However, the A-10 […]
Public vs. private innovation
I like to break down innovation into experimentation, evaluation, and evolution. I think that government has a disadvantage at all three.