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: […]
IRAD
Defense primes have an advantage in OTAs due to a quirk in IRAD
I was tipped off recently that there’s a weird loophole in contractor independent research and development (IRAD) that gives them a significant advantage when it […]
Visualizing the intellectual property strategy for a lifecycle sustainment plan
Here is the excellent Christopher Monsey in the Exceptional Release, Intellectual Property (IP) Strategies in Major System Acquisitions: What are We Missing? He asks the […]
Podcast: The next-generation of combat UAVs with Joseph Murray and Andrew Van Timmeren
I was pleased to have on the Acquisition Talk podcast Joseph Murray and Andrew Van Timmeren. Joe is the co-founder of Blue Force Technologies, a […]
Podcast: The Productivity of Defense Independent R&D
George Mason University and Wharton Aerospace Community held an excellent event on the productivity of independent research and development (IR&D). Discussing the topic was an insightful […]
Event: Measuring R&D productivity
R&D is an easy target for cuts when firms face pressure from quarterly earnings. One problem is that firms don’t have a metric to benchmark […]
Gen. Goldfein on interacting with Congress and the Industrial Base
You can’t skip the step of getting the data right because data is the currency of future operations. This is a tough conversation to have, […]
The importance of sales & marketing in commercial go-to-market
Let’s say you’re at $50 million ARR [annual recurring revenue] and your peer group on average grows at 80 percent. That means your peer group […]
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 […]
Could Lockheed have forked over 20% of F-35 development costs, like KAI for the KF-X?
Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) is expected to complete construction of the first KF-X fighter aircraft prototype by the first half of 2021 and conduct the […]
The astronomical cost of winning contracts
It’s hard to believe that Boeing was a long-shot to win an aircraft program, but it appears that there were 6 other competitors at some level. What I find interesting is the coincidence of Boeing having both the lowest price and the only clean-sheet design. Optimism, perhaps?