Acquisition Talk

I was pleased to have John Ferrari join me on the Acquisition Talk podcast to discuss a wide range of issues facing DoD's ability to field game-changing technologies in an era of strategic competition. He recently retired from the Army as a Major General and director of program analysis and evaluation at the G8. He is now a non-resident senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and Chief Financial Officers of QOMPLX, a data analytics and cybersecurity firm. We touch on: - The impact of inflation on defense - How the Army IVAS HoloLens program shows the future of acquisition - Ways for organizing JADC2 and interoperability - The challenges of running DoD on PowerPoints and disjointed IT systems - Whether new entrants can scale in defense without suing the government In the episode, John argues that DoD's process looks to replace existing "legacy" platforms with newer versions of the same thing: aircraft, ships, ground vehicles, satellites, etc. This focus on the future leads to a dearth of experimentation today, leading to poor choices on those "next-gen" platforms. Instead, he argues that so-called legacy systems should be used as experimental test-beds for integrating new technologies. For example, outfitting a navy ship with fiber optics and 5G, deploying a commercial-based operating system, and allowing nontraditionals to quickly deliver capabilities against that. Another example is the Army's JLTV program, which is basically a small MRAP and while it met its requirement from 2012, has none of the new technologies widely available in the auto-industry like anti-lock breaks and backup cameras, not to mention a suite of sensors and automated software updates found in a Tesla. DoD doesn't have decades to move towards military technologies that have caught up with the 21st century. "If you're building new systems and it takes you 30 or 40 years to get there, rather than taking commercial technology today and embedding it in the current systems, you'll never get there." While the Secretary of Defense can accelerate this move towards rapid experimentation and adoption, it takes his personal attention to each and every project. That cannot scale. The system can only move as fast as trust allows, and since the 1970s there has been a major breakdown in trust between the executive and legislative branches. John argues that information technology provides an opportunity to build back trust, similar to the way parents have learned to trust putting their child into an Uber because they can track location, see the drive's profile, and so forth. This podcast was produced by Eric Lofgren. You can follow us on Twitter @AcqTalk and find more information at https://AcquisitionTalk.com.

Eric Lofgren and Matt MacGregor chat about the week's newsworthy headlines the world of military acquisition. This podcast was produced by Eric Lofgren. You can follow us on Twitter @AcqTalk and find more information at https://AcquisitionTalk.com.

Eric Lofgren and Matt MacGregor chat about the week's newsworthy headlines the world of military acquisition. This podcast was produced by Eric Lofgren. You can follow us on Twitter @AcqTalk and find more information at https://AcquisitionTalk.com.

Eric Lofgren and Matt MacGregor chat about the week's newsworthy headlines the world of military acquisition. This podcast was produced by Eric Lofgren. You can follow us on Twitter @AcqTalk and find more information at AcquisitionTalk.com.

Eric Lofgren and Matt MacGregor chat about the week's newsworthy headlines the world of military acquisition. This podcast was produced by Eric Lofgren. You can follow us on Twitter @AcqTalk and find more information at https://AcquisitionTalk.com.

Eric Lofgren and Matt MacGregor chat about the week's newsworthy headlines the world of military acquisition. This podcast was produced by Eric Lofgren. You can follow us on Twitter @AcqTalk and find more information at https://AcquisitionTalk.com.

Eric Lofgren and Mike Benitez from The Merge newsletter chat about the week's newsworthy headlines the world of military acquisition. This podcast was produced by Eric Lofgren. You can follow us on Twitter @AcqTalk and find more information at AcquisitionTalk.com. Sign up for the Merge newsletter at themerge.co

I was pleased to have on the Acquisition Talk podcast Joseph Murray and Andrew Van Timmeren. Joe is the co-founder of Blue Force Technologies, a small aerospace company that is developing a new combat UAV for the Air Force due to fly in 2023. Andrew is a former F-22 pilot and now advises companies on their defense market strategies. In the episode, we discuss how Blue Force is positioning itself to become a prime contractor with DoD. They are developing a stealthy, high performance, and low cost UAV name is "Fury" -- which comes from a mythological Greek creature that punishes mistakes. The title is fitting because the first mission that Fury intends to fulfill for the Air Force is Adversary Air (ADAIR). Currently, the Air Force uses front-line fighters in the role which severely hampers training and due to the wear, tear, and expense. Fury provides many of the same characteristics of the adversaries they're trying to emulate. It has a 5,000 pound takeoff weight, similar in size to a T-38 trainer, can operate up to 50,000 feet at Mach 0.95, turn at nine Gs, and boasts low observability. It has a modular design that allows for a range of sensors and weapons integration. Despite the performance, it was built almost exclusively with commercially available hardware, allowing it to target a sustainment cost per flying hour of under $4,000. While it's often difficult to compare CPFH numbers due to understanding what goes in it, an F-16 is perhaps four or five times that amount and while F-35s and F-22s are perhaps ten times greater. Certainly top-of-the-line fighters have a number of capabilities that emerging UAVs do not, but not all that capability is needed for many training scenarios. Defense against cruise missiles is one example. Andrew explained in his 10 years as a F-22 pilot, he flew zero defense flights against cruise missiles. Instead, cruise missiles were simulated with Learjets -- a commercial business jet -- which fails to replicate important characteristics. While Blue Force Technologies has started some engagement with the Air Force's Skyborg program, it's initial focus is ADAIR. This is an advantageous place to start because it not only provides realistic training, it is a testbed for manned-unmanned teaming that will be critical to the future fight. As Andrew observed: "Maybe the greatest thing you can do from an operator perspective in manned-unmanned teaming is build that trust." This podcast was produced by Eric Lofgren. You can follow us on Twitter @AcqTalk and find more information at https://AcquisitionTalk.com.

Eric Lofgren and Matt MacGregor chat about the week's newsworthy headlines the world of military acquisition. This podcast was produced by Eric Lofgren. You can follow us on Twitter @AcqTalk and find more information at https://AcquisitionTalk.com.

Eric Lofgren and Matt MacGregor chat about the week's newsworthy headlines the world of military acquisition. This podcast was produced by Eric Lofgren. You can follow us on Twitter @AcqTalk and find more information at https://AcquisitionTalk.com.