A report from NDIA highlights directed-energy suppliers’ struggles to get by on unpredictable “one-off” contracts for prototypes and field tests — but OSD research and acquisition officials warn there are complex tactical questions to work out before they can buy lasers in bulk.
"A path that I proposed is linking that together to show a portfolio of capabilities," Heidi Shyu said about a new AUKUS announcement. "So that will be coming out soon.”
Do more with less: streamline workflows, reduce duplication, invest upfront to save long-term.
"So we think we can actually help make it easier for you to be able to get after the key programs that the warfighter needs," Adm. John Acquilino said.
Though being "cagey" about details, Deputy Secretary of Defense Kath Hicks said the new Replicator program is meant to get "multiple thousands" of autonomous systems in the hands of servicemembers with two years.
“We learned in 2016 that recovering from artificial cuts is more expensive than getting it right in the first place,” David Norquist, NDIA's president and CEO, told Breaking Defense.
The former No. 2 official at the Pentagon believes the department is going to have to get creative as inflation puts long-term contracts at risk.
Government can’t stop to update systems, so modernization has to happen without interruptions.
However the tech-focused small business program proceeds, some lawmakers are calling for change in how SBIR operates, according to documents obtained by Breaking Defense.
“We have to have the capability to illuminate" adversarial actions, Berger said. “Some portion of that is so that we can understand how they're setting their pieces for battle. And part of it, frankly, is to bring it to international attention and expose it for what it is.”
Defense contractors will have another month to meet the mandate, but CEOs have cautioned that some losses in the workforce are inevitable.
The new Joint Warfighting Concept to guide military operations for the next 30 years is "aspirational," and now must be fleshed out as best the Pentagon can with the resources available, says Gen. John Hyten, vice JCS chair.
Breaking Defense Europe will launch May 4 with Tim Martin and Elisabeth Gosselin-Malo as co-editors.
JAIC's plan to rapidly grow capabilities, which it will do via a series of monthly updates, reflects the current AI competition with adversaries, including China which has said it plans to dominate AI by 2030. "To a Marine, this is dangerous close," Lt. Gen. Michael Groen says.
"The impact of the COVID crisis in the aviation sector has been really nothing short of catastrophic," said Hunter. "At this point, it's very challenging for those companies to stay in business."
As Mark Lewis, an expert on hypersonics at the Institute for Defense Analyses, said here at the NDIA conference: "You can’t walk more than 10 feet in the Pentagon without hearing the word hypersonics."
“I get really irritated when I’m in the audience and I hear ‘startup, startup, startup,'” Army Futures Command's chief innovation officer said this morning at the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA). “Startups are not the only source of ideas."