Podcast: No time to waste for defense innovation with BMNT’s Pete Newell
I was pleased to have Pete Newell back on the Acquisition Talk podcast to discuss the urgency of getting innovative defense prototypes into the field […]
rapid acquisition
Rep. Mike Gallagher on multiyear procurement, budget, and oversight
Here’s a slice from a great episode of Hondo Geurts and Lauren Bedula’s Building the Base podcast with Representative Mike Gallagher (R-WI). The Pentagon doesn’t […]
DoDIG heaps praise on use of middle-tier rapid acquisition
DoD acquisition personnel effectively leveraged the MTA [middle tier of acquisition] pathway for all 11 of the programs we reviewed to rapidly develop prototypes and […]
More inklings that OSD will be taking power back from the services
For the past few years, acquisition reform has brought with it a delegation of decisions from the Office of the Secretary of Defense down to […]
How should cost estimators respond to rapid acquisition?
As the Department of Defense keeps up the pressure on rapid acquisition, all functional areas are wondering how they can best support the policies. Cost […]
Is the funding process the last unresolved piece of acquisition reform?
Bernie Skoch: As anyone whose spent time in the five sided house of pleasure can tell you, there’s a programming process and there’s a budgeting […]
Simulators, software, and complexity in weapons platforms
Replicating platforms accurately in simulations remains one of the biggest challenges for the Army, according to a service official. “As many of you know, […]
Podcast: Todd Harrison on the military space reorg. and everything else
Todd Harrison joined me on the Acquisition Talk podcast to discuss a wide range of issues, including how the reorganization of defense space forces is […]
We should never have a spec detailed enough to take 5 years to execute
Milo Medin [VP Wireless Services, Google]: Impact is the big thing everyone wants from their life. And that’s true for software professionals as well. If […]
Not all programs need to be rapid
Acquisition reform initiatives continue to make a difference, many resulting in delivering capability to the warfighter as quickly as possible. The key to success in […]
The culture change associated with rapid acquisition
Francis: What is with all the science fiction references in all of these [software] programs? Star Wars, Kobayashi, where’d that come from? Lauren: Well, you […]
Program managers subjected to luck, not accountability
Program managers are sometimes said to have the most important job in the Department of Defense, but there is also another faction that views the […]
B-21 stealth bomber update
The B-21 is intended to initially replace the 20 B-2 and 63 B-1 strategic bombers currently in the fleet. B-2s date from the 1990s; B-1s […]