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The PPBE Reform Commission released its Interim Report this week. The report lists 10 recommendations that require additional stakeholder feedback and 13 steps that DoD can take now.
- Some of those in the latter category include consolidating budget line items, providing midyear budget update briefings to Congress, and improving PPBE business systems and data analytics.
The Air Force announced a deal with startup JetZero to create a prototype of a blended-wing aircraft that has potential to increase fuel efficiency.
- The contract is being managed by DIU, with collaboration from NASA and the Office of Strategic Capital.
Former Air Force acquisition lead Will Roper is back in the news, advocating that DoD's approach to aviation design look more like that followed by Formula One -- with vigorous use of digital engineering.
- Meanwhile, Air Force secretary Frank Kendall admits that digital engineering has not lived up to all the hype, with disappointing results from the T-7A Red Hawk training jet.
- That program was awarded as a fixed-price contract, and Boeing has lost over $1 billion so far.
Our top story brings the latest on the Joint Warfighting Cloud Capability contract, which has awarded 13 task orders already.
- Nine of these awards support the Combined Joint All Domain Command and Control effort.
The Space Force is looking for commercial companies -- small or big -- that can support space protection.
- Pitches will be taken at this fall's Hyperspace Challenge, co-sponsored by the Space Rapid Capabilities Office.
Sadly, leaders of the House and Senate are already talking about striking a deal for a continuing resolution going into early December.
- The Senate Appropriations Committee has passed all twelve appropriations bills, but the House committee has only passed one.
- The big challenge in getting to agreement is coming from House Republicans aiming for a smaller budget.
The Navy and Marine Corps conducted Large Scale Exercise 2023 this week, displaying the benefits of Live-Virtual-Constructive training and wargaming.
- The event engages 25,000 Sailors and Marines to respond to a scenario in which two U.S. competitors act aggressively, requiring a coordinated battle plan that spans six geographic combatant commander areas of responsibilities.
In ARP news, check out the latest symposium panel video on contracting innovations, with lots of great conversations about commercial solutions openings and OTAs, challenges in meeting small business goals, and cost and price analysis.
- Chaired by ARP and NPS alum Major General Ali Treviño.
This Week's Top Story
13 JWCC task orders have been awarded, with more in the works
Carten Cordell, Nextgov/FCW
The Defense Department’s enterprise cloud contract is already generating robust acquisition demand, coming on the heels of its chief information officer directing component agencies to use the vehicle in new cloud buys.
Defense Information Systems Agency Director Lt. Gen. Robert Skinner said at the AFCEA TechNet Augusta conference Wednesday that 13 task orders off the Joint Warfighter Cloud Capability contract have already been awarded — worth more than $200 million over the lifecycle of the contract — and more are on the way.
“A lot of work has gone on with JWCC, I think that is a success story,” Skinner said. “We’ve got like 13 [task orders] in contracting right now and 45 packages to where the department is truly moving out on this. And nine of them are associated with [Combined Joint All Domain Command and Control]. So there’s a link with CJADC2 when it comes to the cloud.”
CJACD2 is the rebranded version of the DOD’s Joint All Domain Command and Control effort, which is the department’s multidomain initiative to integrate sensors across air, land, sea, cyber and, now, allied network domains to reflect a combined JADC2 development that will provide defense leaders real-time command data.
Earlier this month, DOD CIO John Sherman issued a memo directing that all existing DOD cloud contracts be transitioned to JWCC upon expiration and that any new secret or top secret-level cloud capabilities — also known as DISA Impact Level 6 — go through JWCC.
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