"We are at an inflection point in national security when 'business as usual' and the status quo will allow China, our primary threat, to continue to advance militarily, technologically, economically, and diplomatically," writes Arnold Punaro.
The institute will concentrate on artificial intelligence; autonomy; biotechnology; cyber; directed energy; command, control and communications; hypersonics; microelectronics; quantum science; space; and '5G to Next G.'
Knowing when to build on commercial systems and when to develop something new can be the difference between parity and information dominance.
Northrop Grumman, Leidos, and Huntington Ingalls have paused political contributions, and one defense expert expects more to join in
PENTAGON: There are a lot of empty offices around the E-ring, the most prestigious sector of the Pentagon, where top defense officials enjoy the rare privilege of windows. But that’s about to change, a senior aide to Defense Secretary Jim Mattis told me. “There’s a bow wave of names that are very close to being […]
WASHINGTON: What does the former CEO of Ben & Jerry’s have to teach the US military? When it comes to reforming the Pentagon’s business practices, the answer may be plenty. If you had to pick an ice cream company to partner with the Pentagon, you wouldn’t pick the notoriously (and sometimes literally) granola Ben & […]
WASHINGTON: One of the Pentagon procurement system’s top officials and one of its harshest critics sounded optimistic today that the military can improve how it buys weapons. The key, both said, is for Congress to repeal old laws that now get in the way before it writes anything new — an idea to which the […]
Balancing security and access to data are critical to providing users with trustworthy, reliable data for real-time decisions.
WASHINGTON: Acquisition reform. It almost makes you feel good to hear those words. They connote improvement, reason and good government. But the more acquisition reform America gets from Congress and the Pentagon, it seems, the less return we get on each dollar we spend. Estimates of the cost of government oversight of Pentagon acquisition range […]
WASHINGTON: Last year, the US Air Force fell face-first onto a buzzsaw when it proposed dramatic cuts to the Air National Guard, whose supporters raised a storm of protest in the Congress. Now there are signs that the next big budget battle will be between the regular active-duty Army and the Army National Guard. Or, […]
[updated 3:00 pm with Kendall comments] WASHINGTON: If history is any guide, the cuts to the defense budget will prompt a new wave of acquisition reform — and if history is any guide, we’ll get it wrong, again. Frank Kendall, the undersecretary for acquisitions, logistics, and technology, rolled out a “Better Buying Power” initiative in […]
If If the Pentagon wants to buy weapons that are delivered on time and don’t cost too much, then it should take decades of regulations, totaling thousands of pages, and “put a match to it,” the chairman of a Defense Business Board study told Breaking Defense. The best part is that’s a reform the Pentagon […]
The military space sector is evolving fast. Get the latest from Space Force and industry officials on what’s next for acquisition, policy and training in a new Breaking Defense eBook.
WASHINGTON: Companies that do business with the federal government will have to announce “hundreds of thousands” of lay-offs just days before the November election, predicted the former Pentagon comptroller for George W. Bush. As sequestration approaches, said Dov Zakheim, the former comptroller, companies large and small will be faced with layoffs, which by law — […]