How were projects selected for the APFIT fund to field innovative tech?
The Accelerate the Procurement and Fielding of Innovative Technologies (APFIT) fund was one of the bright spots from FY 2022. It provided $100 million to […]
congress
Precision guided munitions pruduction is totally inadequate
The Pentagon is rebalancing its portfolio of PGMs away from short-range weapons used for counterterrorism operations toward long-range weapons that can be fired from standoff […]
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 […]
DoD’s end-to-end budget cycle must be compressed to one year, max
Here’s a lengthy slice from the recently exited DIU director Michael Brown on the Venture Stories podcast discussing a major barrier to military innovation. I’ll […]
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 […]
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. […]
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 […]
Inflation expectations and the impact on defense contractors
Here’s Director of Defense Pricing and Contracting John Tenaglia at giving a keynote address at the Pricing Summit: At the heart of the memo is […]
USD R&E Heidi Shyu on the valley of death, DIU, and budget reform
In a recent HASC hearing on S&T, several congress members bombarded USD R&E Heidi Shyu with questions about Defense Innovation Unit. Rep. Seth Moulton, who […]
Will the FY23 defense budget get a $100B bump by Congress?
Here’s an interesting conversation about FY23 budget projections on Defense & Aerospace Report podcast. (I’ll forego the indent) Michael Herson: We’ve seen a lot of […]
GAO struggles to define oversight for the Adaptive Acquisition Framework
Here’s the General Accountability Office’s take on Middle Tier of Acquisition (MTA) in space systems from a recent report. Remember, MTA efforts must be rapidly […]
Congress needs introspection for PPBE Reform to work, for DoD to innovate at scale
There are several ways in which Congress is a major impediment to an improved defense investment process. First, congressional committees are loath to shed their ability […]
We’re never going to beat China with that kind of oversight!
Here is a Air Force head of contracting authority Maj. Gen. Cameron Holt discussing an interesting new proposal: [Line of Effort] 3 is called “owning […]
Podcast: Getting more for our defense dollars with Fred Bartels and Philip Candreva
I was pleased to be invited for a discussion with Philip Candreva and Frederico Bartels hosted by the Heritage Foundation. Philip is a senior lecturer […]
Getting out of an acquisition system based on predictability and compliance
Jared Serbu: You already have the problem of DoD having the build a budget that they are not going to execute on for another two […]