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Happy Friday!
It's nearly May, which means the 21st Annual Acquisition Research Symposium is right around the corner on May 8-9. The program is locked and loaded, with two days full of insights from senior leaders and the latest analysis from dedicated researchers, including some of you.
Have you registered yet? Once you do, you can view the program with links to those panels offered both virtually and in person.
This week we celebrate the passage of the long-awaited National Security Supplemental, which authorizes $60 billion in supplies to Ukraine via drawdown authority and replenishment of U.S. stockpiles, and provides both support for Israel and humanitarian assistance to Gaza.
- The $95 billion total does not count toward limits imposed by the Fiscal Responsibility Act.
Today, the Ukraine Defense Contact Group will meet for the 21st time as this new wave of support moves out, bringing together the 50 countries supporting Ukraine's defense efforts. This follows last week's meeting of the National Armaments Directors, co-chaired by Bill LaPlante.
The Global Security Forum this Wednesday at the Center for Strategic & International Studies provided a host of insights from current and former defense leaders.
Bill LaPlante and Heidi Shyu spoke on a panel considering the industrial base.
- In sharing success stories, both noted the increase in international collaboration to co-develop and co-produce warfighting capabilities, as is happening in efforts like AUKUS and those to support Ukraine.
- Shyu also discussed in broad terms some of the latest innovative tech developments coming out of her office, to include high-powered microwaves, systems to counter hypersonics, and the ability to triple the range of 155 mm artillery rounds.
One of Shyu's soundbites from the panel:
- "Two and a half years ago when I first walked into the Pentagon, SECDEF literally asked me to lay out what are the things we need to do to counter hypersonics. So we laid out the entire kill chain, pre-launch to terminal, and talked about all the things we can go after, every single phase. DEPSECDEF liked it.... I got funded ... And we IOC'd those capabilities last month."
- The moderator asked, "can we know what those are?"
- Shyu replied, "Absolutely not. ... But China will find out."
We can't wait to hear LaPlante and Shyu speak together on the second day of the symposium.
- We expect to hear more about how their two offices are collaborating to fund, develop, and deliver both new technologies and essential warfighting tools such as ammunition.
In other acquisition news, Anduril announced last week that it fielded a prototype unmanned underwater vehicle in Australia – early and under budget, a feat that it says could not have happened in coordination with the U.S. Navy.
Anduril is also one of the two companies to receive a contract to continue developing drones for the Air Force's collaborative combat aircraft program.
- General Atomics is the other contractor working to develop production-representative test aircraft.
In an effort to increase the speed of shipbuilding, SECNAV Carlos Del Toro is considering having portions of Navy ships built at foreign shipyards, notably the highly efficient ones in South Korea.
In the category of research and innovation, the National Science Foundation is expanding its Convergence Accelerator program with 10 regional hubs of innovation.
- The goal is to transition basic research into tangible solutions with societal impact that are generated by collaboration among industry, academia, nonprofits, government and other communities of practice.
Our top story brings news of a bill moving through the House with the goal of requiring plain language in contracting.
In ARP news, we bring recent student research on solid rocket motors, a known weakness in the defense supply chain.
- LCDR Gureck's research brings insights from interviews and tours of several industry partners, including at least two (X-Bow and Relativity Space) that are using additive manufacturing to shorten production and delivery time, sidestepping persistent supply chain bottlenecks.
21st Annual Acquisition Research Symposium
Here's a panel you won't want to miss:
Plenary panel 14: Service acquisition flag officer roundtable
Thursday, May 9 | 8:00-9:00 am PT | In-person and virtual
Chair: Michael Williamson, LTG USA (ret.), President, Lockheed Martin International
Panelists:
- Brigadier General Frank J. Lozano, USA, Program Executive Office, Missiles and Space
- Major General Alice W. Treviño, USAF, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Contracting, SAF/AQ
- Brigadier General David C. Walsh, USMC, Commander, Marine Corps Systems Command
- Mr. Christopher P. Manning, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Research & Technology (DASA R&T)
This Week's Top Story
House panel advances bill to make federal contracting easier to understand Natalie Alms, Nextgov/FCW
Federal contracting opportunities too complicated to understand? There’s a bill for that.
Reps. Nick LaLota, R-N.Y., and Shri Thanedar, D-Mich., say that their Plain Language in Contracting Act is meant to ensure that small businesses have access to federal contracting opportunities. Introduced last Monday, the proposal would require agencies to use plain language in certain procurement notices pertaining to small businesses, like requests for proposals and solicitations.
“It shouldn’t be as hard as the federal government makes it for America’s small businesses to apply for and to win a federal contract,” LaLota said during a House Committee on Small Business markup last week.
The government exceeded its small business contracting goals in fiscal 2022, but there’s still been a decade-long decline in the number of small businesses receiving prime contracts. The administration also has its eye on small disadvantaged businesses in particular — the Office of Management and Budget has a goal for the federal government to award 13% of its contract spending to these businesses in fiscal 2024.
The House Committee on Small Business reported the proposal out of committee last week. If passed into law, the Small Business Administration would be tasked with issuing rules to implement its provisions.
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