Lessons on competition for defense policy-makers
Nathan Rosenberg: The historical outcome of this long-term freedom to conduct experiments which, as I have argued, has been the central feature of western capitalism, […]
competition
We can have competition in the most expensive weapons
I think it is terribly important, that the Department of Defense always have the option to buy something else… they should keep their options open… […]
Update on federal contract data for Covid-19 — Breakdown and Map
A net total of $1.97 billion has been obligated to federal contractors in response to Covid-19 between February 4 and April 5. Over the course […]
The last frontier of acquisition reform
I think the Pentagon is going to look in the long term to the last frontier of acquisition reform, which is the budget process. One […]
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 […]
The disease of restricting competition isn’t limited to Europe
I have been repeatedly impressed in putting this paper together by how often unexpected and great discoveries and progress came about during or as the […]
How delegation of authority is proceeding in Air Force contracting
The big question in my mind is not whether we are going to increase the authorities at the lower levels — we have to do […]
Providing two or more sources of production doesn’t always lead to higher costs
The second argument usually used against setting up a second source is that the efficiencies of the first source would have to be scaled back […]
130 companies competing in small-launch
Here’s part of an interesting interview with Rocket Lab’s Peter Beck on ArsTechnica. What do you think about the competition? SpaceX is entering the smallsat […]
Are OTA contracts being competed?
A number of nontraditional companies told CRS that they are more likely to work with DOD because of the department’s other transaction authorities. Despite these […]
What profits should we be willing to pay defense firms?
One of the long-standing problems has been the fact that the government tends to pay profit as a percentage of cost. If a contractor is […]
Implications of the Space Development Agency
Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan on Tuesday [March 12, 2019] officially established the Space Development Agency as a separate organization within the Department of Defense […]
50 years of state-planned technology
Mr. Chairman, I believe we are in a de facto situation of nationalized high technology industry. All that is left is to formalize the arrangement. […]
What is the slogan for acquisition reform?
At the Air Force “Spark Tank” innovation award — presumably titled after CNBC’s Shark Tank show — Mark Cuban asks a young innovative airman why […]
How to think about corporate welfare
You can define corporate welfare in a number of way, but the most common revolves around Government subsidies — and other forms of unearned support […]