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Happy Friday!
This week we learned the B-21 entered low rate initial production, a feat accomplished so quickly in part because the prototype was built using the same techniques that will be used in full production. Bill LaPlante's commentary:
- “One of the key attributes of this program has been designing for production from the start — and at scale — to provide a credible deterrent to adversaries,” LaPlante said. “If you don’t produce and field to warfighters at scale, the capability doesn’t really matter.”
However, manufacturer Northrop Grumman is reporting that production costs have grown $143 million over initial projections.
DoD members are briefing Replicator potential capabilities to Congress, and the next industry engagement hosted by DIU is slated for February 13.
Our top story is one of three covering contracting missteps.
- GSA conducted faulty market research when purchasing video cameras from a Chinese manufacturer. Even once security problems were identified, more were purchased under the false justification that there were no other providers.
- DoD conducted over $50 million worth of transactions using government purchase cards and improperly charged the costs to COVID-19 supplies, from plumbing services to internet services.
- And the NIH IT contract vehicle CIO SP4 is once again receiving protests from disappointed offerers after using the same self-scoring approach that garnered over 300 protests two years ago.
In other acquisition news, deliveries of the latest batch of F-35s are being delayed because software has not been finalized.
Aprille Ericsson spoke at her nomination hearing to be the first-ever Assistant Secretary of Defense for Science and Technology, where she identified her priorities as developing hypersonic weapons, quantum computing, and better relationships with small businesses.
In other Congress news, two Senators introduced the Conforming Procedures for Federal Task and Delivery Order Contracts Act with the goal of reducing burdensome requirements and creating “a more nimble and meaningful bidding process and evaluation of proposals.”
In ARP news, we bring new student research on the hybrid airship Airlander, conducting an analysis of alternatives on its use in the arctic.
And we're thrilled to share that we've posted the program for the 21st Annual Acquisition Research Symposium, co-hosted by the Naval Warfare Studies Institute at NPS. Once again, we have a tremendous lineup and can't wait to see you all in Monterey. Register now!
Program Posted: 21st Annual Acquisition Research Symposium
Invited keynote speakers are Hon. Bill LaPlante, Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, Hon. Heidi Shyu, Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, and Hon. Nickolas Guertin, Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development, and Acquisition
The posted program lists papers and speakers for the 24 panels, including a plenary panel featuring commissioners of the PPBE reform commission.
Register now!
This Week's Top Story
GSA used ‘egregiously flawed’ data to clear purchase of Chinese-made cameras, watchdog says
David DiMolfetta, Nextgov/FCW
The General Services Administration used “egregiously flawed” market research in its decision to purchase 150 Chinese-made video conferencing cameras that did not comply with U.S. trade standards, the agency’s oversight office said in a report released Tuesday.
The U.S.-based firm, which was unnamed and designated only as “Company A” in the report, provided the agency with cameras manufactured in China that did not comply with the 1979 Trade Agreements Act, and includes known security flaws that still need to be addressed, according to GSA’s Office of Inspector General.
The agency’s OIG was contacted in 2022 by an unnamed employee concerned about the purchase and use of the equipment. The procurement was greenlit by GSA CIO David Shive, and was made through GSA’s Federal Acquisition Service’s Federal Systems Integration and Management Center — or FEDSIM — in two separate orders: 70 purchased in March 2022, followed by an additional 80 in October 2022.
But a June 2022 analysis issued by an unnamed IT security company highlighted five vulnerabilities in the equipment, and added that the equipment can be turned into “rogue wireless network gateways” that can be used to secretly access the camera owners’ networks, according to the oversight report.
Shive concurred with the camera purchases, knowing that they didn’t meet standards, according to the report. “Per the market research conducted by GSA IDT, there are no available comparable products that are compliant,” a statement from an included purchase memorandum reads.
The findings highlight yet another potential security lapse in the federal government’s cybersecurity apparatus and follows recent headline-making cyberattacks that compromised the Securities and Exchange Commission and Department of Health and Human Services.
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