The Kearsarge Amphibious Ready Group and embarked 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit, under the command and control of Task Force 61/2, is on a scheduled deployment in the U.S. Naval Forces Europe area of operations, employed by U.S. Sixth Fleet to defend U.S., allied and partner interests. (U.S. Navy/ Jesse Schwab)
WEST 2023 — In order to overcome challenges faced by industry when delivering capabilities as quickly as possible to warfighters, companies need to be involved earlier in the requirements process, several executives said recently.
Setting unrealistic expectations for requirements leads down a path of poor communication between industry partners and the military, Roy Kelley, vice president of naval power requirements and capabilities at Raytheon, said at the WEST 2023 conference.
“Because if you create these requirements in a vacuum without using industry — who your experts are — then I think you’re missing an opportunity,” he said Feb. 15. “So I think as I look at where’s the communication really need to start, it’s got to start as you set those requirements and if you’re not using industry to help set those requirements, then you’re probably missing a great opportunity.”
Kelley was joined by Michael Manazir, vice president of Boeing’s navy systems/government operations, who said there needs to be a shared commitment to speed when it comes to the contracting process.
“Don’t let us tell you all that the uniformed contracting officers are the ones that are the problem,” Manazir, who retired as a Navy Rear Admiral in 2017, said. “We have a shared problem and we’ve got to be able to figure out how to break through” it.
One thing that could help industry to overcome challenges in the contracting process is having a steady demand signal, Kelley said. He added it’s “incredibly difficult” for industry to keep the talented people that do the design and production work if demands from the service are ever changing.
“The one thing I think that I would…say [is] if you can come to us with a multi-year, if you can come to us with some type of contracting process that allows for a fairly steady demand, it would help enormously,” he added.
Another area that needs improvement is training, said Joe DePietro, vice president of Lockheed Martin Naval Combat and Missile Defense Systems. He stressed that even if industry can deliver the most “eye watering” hardware and software capabilities, it’s ultimately a failure if the sailor doesn’t understand how to operate and employ them.
“Industry only controls a portion of that,” he continued. “Understand which part we have, understand the link to the other part and be the person who marries all that together so that we can be successful as an integrated team.”
The industry comments stood out in the wake of comments from two key Navy officials in January, which took direct shots at industry.
Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael Gilday said at the Surface Navy Association’s annual symposium in January that shipbuilders need to do more with what they already have. “They [industry] would tell you…they think they can do more,” he said. “So my message to them is: Prove it.”
That was echoed in comments at the same conference from the four-star officer in charge of U.S. Fleet Forces Command, Adm. Daryl Caudle, who said he is not “forgiving” of industry complaints about how hard it is to deliver what the Navy needs, saying “We’ve all got tough jobs.”
