What are the prerequisites to defense budget reform?
Here’s a snippet from Christopher O’Donnell, acting ASD(Acquisition) at the 2021 GMU/DAU conference: What the MTA has shown is that the JCIDS process and the […]
RAND
Cost-per-desired-effect and the F-35 vs F-15EX debate
Let me give you one specific example. The leverage provided by stealth aircraft in the First Gulf War is fully illustrated by this particular attack. […]
Two definitions of weapon systems “concurrency”
Because of the uncertainties and perceived criticality of ICBMs, the WDD and Ramo-Wooldridge believed it unwise to rely on only one approach. If it did […]
Some problems with the Future of Defense Task Force report
I. Using the Manhattan Project as a model, the United States must undertake and win the artificial intelligence race by leading in the invention and […]
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 […]
Edward Keating on weapons sustainment and CBO analyses
Edward Keating joined me on the Acquisition Talk podcast to talk about a wide range of issues. He is the Deputy Assistant Director for National […]
Performance of defense satellite programs
SBIRS-GEO, GPS IIF, AEHF, and WGS all experienced delays in the launch of their first satellites. Although six years from ATP to first launch of […]