|
Lots of news came out of this week's Emerging Technologies conference hosted by the National Defense Industrial Association.
The first-ever defense industrial strategy is expected in December. Goals include a ready workforce, resilient supply chains, and fair markets. The first of three phases, focused on development, is already complete.
Bill LaPlante went on record with DoD's position that support for Ukraine is not impacting readiness.
- "Every item that is decided and taken from the U.S. stock and provided to the Ukrainians, the chairman and secretary go through it, and they look exactly at what is the effect for readiness. And if they think it's any impact, negative on readiness, or increases risk … we won't do it."
Deputy Secretary of Defense Hicks announced the Replicator initiative, which would counter the PRC's naval advantages of "mass--more ships, more missiles, more people" with thousands of attritable, autonomous systems fielded in the next 18-24 months.
Heidi Shyu announced that some projects supported by the Rapid Defense Experimentation Reserve are ready to transition to the field. They will be assessed at an upcoming deputy’s management action group meeting.
INDOPACOM commander Adm. John Aquilino announced the new Joint Mission Accelerator Directorate which will be a hub that pulls in officials and assets from Pentagon elements focused on technology acceleration. DIU will be embedded with the JMAD; the deputy director of DIU will serve as the JMAD's chief technology officer. With this and other initiatives, we're starting to see more coordination across the defense innovation ecosystem.
In other Navy innovation news, our top story covers another potential new organization, a Disruptive Capabilities Office focused on rapidly fielding tech that already exists. If established, it would subsume the Unmanned Task Force.
And the Navy's innovation organization, NavalX, has a new website that articulates funding models, types of networks leveraged, and tech specialties of each TechBridge location. It's all part of a slew of modernized DoD websites that are much more user friendly and informative.
The latest assessment of the President's Management Agenda is out, focused on customer experience. One of the core strategies is to improve federal acquisition. Progress on the data sharing goal is coming in the form of a new cross-agency Market Research and Pricing Data pilot.
DPC has issued a class deviation giving contracting officers guidance on the current moratorium on new 8(a)s following a district court's ruling.
In NPS news, research from NPS alum and two professors shows the value of higher education for enlisted Marines (and other service members). This quarter NPS welcomed five staff noncommissioned officers as part of the pilot program authorized by the Smart Act. We'll be checking in with these students over the next year and bringing you updates on their research.
This Week's Top Story
Navy weighs creation of ‘Disruptive Capabilities’ office to rapidly field tech to fleet
Justin Katz, Breaking Defense
The US Navy is considering the establishment of a “Disruptive Capabilities Office” focused on rapidly fielding existing technologies to address operational problems, according to sources as well as a draft document obtained by Breaking Defense.
The final details of this new office are still in flux and plans could change pending approvals from Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro and acting Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti. But a draft charter, dated for late June 2023 and circulated this summer at an industry event, stated the DCO would be a “unique office” capable of “rapidly [solving] emerging operational problems with a broad aperture unconstrained by legacy processes.”
Further, if the Navy’s top officials sign the new office into life, it could trigger the end of the Unmanned Task Force, established by former CNO Adm. Michael Gilday in September 2021. “The DCO will leverage the UTF’s lessons learned, best practices and processes, and incorporate key UTF personnel,” according to the document. “Upon standup of the DCO, the UTF will be disestablished.”
|
