|
Happy Friday!
Here are the highlights for this week:
- DoD put out an interim implementation report on the National Defense Industrial Strategy. It maps recent accomplishments to the four priority areas: resilient supply chains, workforce readiness, flexible acquisition, and economic deterrence.
- In our top story, the Sentinel program continues to be in the news with cost overruns -- now projected to cost 81% more than originally planned. This week's review, overseen by Bill LaPlante, makes the statutorily required case for continuing the program nonetheless with some changes.
- Space Force has added another launch provider. Stoke Space joins Blue Origin, SpaceX, and ULA.
- The first contract awards for the collaborative combat aircraft are expected this September.
- Check out the thesis from recent graduate Captain Jacquelyn Stringfield, which looks at how the Air Force can enhance services acquisition with digital tools.
- And NPS faculty member Cory Yoder has published an article on combatting trafficking in persons in defense contracting, a goal that remains challenging in international contracting.
This Week's Top Story
Pentagon keeps commitment to Sentinel nuclear missile as costs balloon
Stephen Losey, Defense News
The military will continue developing its new LGM-35A Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile but has told the U.S. Air Force to restructure the program to get its ballooning costs under control.
Even a “reasonably modified” version of the Northrop Grumman-made Sentinel will likely cost $140.9 billion, 81% more than the program’s original cost estimate of $77.7 billion, the Pentagon said in a statement. If Sentinel continues on its current path without being modified, the likely cost will be about $160 billion, it said.
And the military expects restructuring the program will delay it by several years.
“There are reasons for this cost growth, but there are also no excuses,” William LaPlante, undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment, said in a conference call with reporters on Monday. “We fully appreciate the magnitude of the costs, but we also understand the risks of not modernizing our nuclear forces and not addressing the very real threats we confront.”
The Sentinel is intended to replace the Air Force’s half-century old Minuteman III nuclear missile, which is nearing the end of its life. In January, the Air Force announced Sentinel’s future costs were projected to run over budget severely enough to trigger a review process known as a critical Nunn-McCurdy breach.
Such a review can sometimes lead to a program being canceled. LaPlante said Monday he decided to proceed with Sentinel after concluding it met several criteria, including that it is essential to national security and there were no cheaper alternatives that would meet the military’s operational requirements.
Big changes are coming for Sentinel, however. LaPlante rescinded the program’s Milestone B approval, which in September 2020 authorized the program to move into its engineering and manufacturing development phase. He also ordered the Air Force to restructure the program to address the root causes of the cost overruns and make sure it has the right management structure to keep its future price down.
|
