DoD cannot wait for zero risk before scaling important technologies
One of the major ideas of defense acquisition is that programs of record shouldn’t begin until a full requirements and technical understanding has been accomplished. […]
trial-and-error
Can government programs move fast and take risks again? The Corona story.
There’s an excellent documentary called “The Corona Story – A Point in Time,” on the CIA’s Corona satellite reconnaissance program. It was was a truly […]
How open is the government to creative destruction?
Arthur Diamond had a great conversation with Russ Roberts about his new book, Openness to Creative Destruction. In the episode, Diamond tells us a story […]
How the DOD failed to follow up on hypersonics decades ago
The key technology for hypersonic air-breathing propulsion at higher flight Mach numbers is the supersonic combustion ramjet (scramjet). In this device, injection of hydrogen fuel […]
Pace of innovation in the world of bits and atoms
Are people’s living standards improving? Silicon Valley says yes, but their story is at odds with what people are experiencing on the ground. There’s been […]
John Nash on the virtues of parallel control
The basic idea is simple. Instead of having a single control unit sequencing the operations of the machine in series (except for certain subsidiary operations […]
High performance computing to solve acquisition?
Enter HPCMP, the High Performance Computing Modernization Program. HPCMP provides the DoD with massive supercomputing capabilities and all classes of networks to transport data, as […]