Acquisition
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Fixing the Pentagon’s Broken Innovation Pipeline
Michael C. Horowitz and Lauren Kahn, National Interest
The authors argue that the Pentagon's outdated 1960s Planning, Programming, Budget, and Execution (PPBE) system stifles innovation and the rapid adoption of new military capabilities and suggest modernization reforms.
- Rapid Reprogramming: To accelerate capability fielding, the Pentagon needs the ability to reprogram resources more quickly. The authors suggest raising the current $15 million cap on transfers without prior Congressional approval to $100 million or higher.
- Flexible Funding: Congress should provide "colorless" money, allowing greater flexibility within program funding to move across phases like research, testing, and acquisition as needed, preventing delays when programs progress faster than anticipated.
- Permanent CR Authority: If Congress continues to miss appropriation deadlines, the Pentagon requires permanent flexibility to start and end programs during CR periods, ensuring it can continue fielding emerging capabilities.
The SPEED and FoRGED Acts Compared
Madeline Field, War on the Rocks
The Streamlining Procurement for Effective Execution and Delivery (SPEED) Act and the Fostering Reform and Government Efficiency in Defense Act (FoRGED) both aim to fundamentally reform defense acquisition processes, program management, and the industrial base. This side-by-side comparison identifies key differences in how the bills approach acquisition reform.
Decoding the FAR Overhaul
Wiley Law
New updates and agency deviations have been recently issued for FAR Part 6: Competition Requirements and Part 11: Describing Agency Needs. Part 6 is substantially streamlined, while much of of the language in Part 11 has been eliminated entirely.
Resources: Practitioner Album - FAR Part 6 and Practitioner Album - FAR Part 11
Innovation
Employees of one of Naval Information Warfare Center (NIWC) Pacific’s predecessor labs lowering a submersible named Makakai into the water in 1975. The Hawaii lab specialized in marine biosystems and underwater vehicles, and is just one piece of NIWC Pacific’s 80-year history that would help shape it into the Navy’s experts in information warfare. (U.S. Navy courtesy photo)
The Double Power Law: How American Innovation Really Works
Jon Metzler and Andrew W. Reddie, War on the Rocks
The U.S. innovation ecosystem operates on a unique and highly successful "double power law" model, where decentralized federal investment in basic research fuels a downstream venture capital system, both characterized by asymmetric, unpredictable returns. This eighty-year-old framework prioritizes broad, open scientific inquiry over targeted strategic bets, creating a vast reservoir of knowledge essential for national competitiveness and economic dynamism.
- Venture Portfolio: Federal research funding functions as an initial "venture portfolio," placing numerous small bets across disciplines that generate a pipeline of discovery for later commercialization -- for example the Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET) leading to the Internet. NASA estimates a 7X multiplier effect for every dollar spent on R&D.
- Innovation Division: The innovation lifecycle involves a distinct division of labor using the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) scale. Universities and research institutes handle early-stage (TRL 1-3) theoretical and experimental work. National laboratories and Federally Funded Research and Development Centers manage mid-stage (TRL 4-6) validation and prototyping, navigating the "valley of death". Finally, the private sector leads late-stage (TRL 7-9) commercialization and scaling.
Declining public trust in AI is a national-security problem
Patrick Tucker, Defense One
Declining public trust in artificial intelligence poses a significant national security challenge for the United States, risking diminished R&D support and ceding technological leadership to China.
- Trust Plunge: U.S. public trust in AI has plummeted to 35% (from 50% in 2019), contrasting sharply with high trust in China. This "trust gap" is a national security risk, as the U.S. is only "a couple of months ahead" of China.
- Earning Trust: Proposals for rebuilding confidence include strengthening privacy laws, supporting open-source infrastructure, and independent audits of AI systems.
Defense & Strategy
Amphibious assault ship USS Essex (LHD 2) prepares to depart the Pride of California Dry Dock, BAE Systems, San Diego, Sept. 8, 2023. (U.S. Navy photo by Chief Mass Communication Specialist Brian P. Caracci)
The Strategic Consequences of Deferred Maintenance: Challenges to the Resilience of U.S. Sea Power
Dr. Emily Pesicka, Small Wars Journal
NPS postdoctoral research fellow Dr. Emily Pesicka argues that U.S. Sea Services face a critical crisis due to decades of deferred maintenance, a shrinking fleet, and aging infrastructure, which has severely eroded America's maritime dominance and readiness amidst intensifying great power competition.
- Fleet Idled: Deferred maintenance leaves critical naval assets tied up in drydocks, with nearly half the Navy's ships often unavailable for deployment.
- Urgent Solutions: Modernizing maintenance must be treated with "war planning" urgency. This includes public-private partnerships to boost shipyard capacity and adopting AI and predictive analytics for preventive maintenance.
- Tech Future: Investing in unmanned systems, drones, and autonomous ships is crucial to supplement the fleet and prepare for modern warfare. These offer reconnaissance and operational flexibility while reducing risk and maintenance needs.
Industry
Macro of a 4" silicon wafer. Each square is a chip with microscopic transistors and circuits.Photo by Laura Ockel Unsplash.
Solving America’s Chip Manufacturing Crisis
Kenneth Flamm and William B. Bonvillian, American Affairs
The United States confronts a severe national security crisis due to the precipitous decline of domestic leading-edge chip manufacturing. Addressing this vulnerability necessitates immediate, sustained government intervention and a comprehensive overhaul of national semiconductor strategy.
- Sole Source Risk: The U.S. and its leading tech firms, including Intel, Nvidia, Qualcomm, and Apple, are critically dependent on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation (TSMC) for the fabrication of their most advanced chips.
- Costly Customization: DOD requires highly integrated, customized chips for its advanced military systems, which are typically produced in relatively low volumes. However, the fixed design costs for leading-edge application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) have dramatically soared, with a single design, verification, and testing process costing up to $1 billion. Reducing these design costs is critical for DOD to affordably adopt advanced technology and enhance U.S. weapons systems.
- Next-Gen Edge: Alternative technologies are essential for realizing continued performance improvements for microelectronics. To ensure that advanced technologies like AI and quantum computing can be integrated into weapons systems, DOD must support the industrial base and invest in next-generation chip technologies.
Research
An AAI RQ-7 Shadow unmanned aerial vehicle is launched by U.S. Army Soldiers of Delta Co., 104th Brigade Engineer Battalion, 44th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, New Jersey Army National Guard, at McGregor Base Camp, New Mexico, Feb. 19, 2024. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Bruce Daddis)
Future Tactical Unmanned Aircraft System Case History: A Tailored Approach to Acquisition Strategy
Sean M. Dantonello, Molly A. Libowski, and Taylor J. Cox, Naval Postgraduate School
This NPS student thesis examines the Army's Future Tactical Unmanned Aircraft System (FTUAS) program as a case study, analyzing its acquisition strategy in contrast to the predecessor RQ-7 Shadow. This capstone research presents a decision-making framework for acquisition professionals to use to develop an appropriate acquisition approach based on the Service’s priorities to balance risk, manage cost/schedule/performance requirements and deliver capability at the speed and scale of relevance.
The “Shrinking” Defense Industrial Base: A Survey of Former DoD Prime Contractors
Edward Hyatt and Lloyd E. Everhart, Defense Acquisition Research Journal
This study surveys former DOD contractors to understand their specific reasons for exiting the defense industrial base. The research reveals that roughly one-third of these confirmed exits are directly attributable to bureaucracy, cumbersome solicitation processes, and other unfavorable characteristics of working with the DOD.
Second-order impacts of civil artificial intelligence regulation on defense: Why the national security community must engage
Deborah Cheverton, Atlantic Council
Despite carve-outs for military applications, civil regulation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) poses significant second-order or unintended consequences for the defense and national security community. Because civil regulations shape the market of available AI tools and personnel and judicial interpretations of civil laws can impact the military's "license to operate," the defense community must proactively engage in civil AI regulatory discussions.
Events
NCMA World Congress 2025
13-16 July 2025
Grapevine, TX
From Lab to Launch: NPS Reverse Pitch Event
23 July 2025
Monterrey, CA
Navy and Marine Corps Procurement Conference
29-30 July 2025
Norfolk, VA
2025 Air and Space Summit
31 July 2025
McLean, VA
Ground Vehicle Systems Engineering & Technology Symposium & Modernization Update (GVSETS)
12-14 August 2025
Novi, MI
MODSIM World 2025
18-20 August 2025
Norfolk, VA
2025 Navy Summit
26 August 2025
McLean, VA
2025 Emerging Technologies for Defense
27-29 August 2025
Washington, DC
I/ITSEC 2025: Optimizing Training: Ensuring Operational Dominance
1-4 December 2025
Orlando, FL
One more thing...
July 4, 2022. USS Constitution, the world's oldest commissioned warship afloat and the oldest that can sail under its own power, goes underway in Boston Harbor for Independence Day. (U.S. Navy Photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Alec Kramer)
Ashkum native serves aboard Navy’s oldest commissioned warship as America celebrates independence
Ashley Craig, Iroquois County's Times-Republic
NPS alumnus Lt. Cmdr. Kylen Lemenager, is the incoming executive officer on the USS Constitution, the Navy’s oldest commissioned warship and the sole surviving vessel of the Navy’s original six frigates.
- Iconic Nickname: Launched in 1797, the ship famously earned its nickname, “Old Ironsides,” during the War of 1812, when British cannonballs were observed bouncing harmlessly off its sturdy wooden hull.
- Undefeated Legacy: In nearly 60 years of active service, the Constitution remained undefeated in battle, successfully capturing or destroying 33 enemy vessels.
- Dedicated Guardians: The USS Constitution has a hand-picked crew of more than 60 sailors crew of whose duties extend beyond preservation to championing naval history, maritime heritage, and the enduring importance of a strong naval presence.
- Living Heritage: The US Navy celebrates its 250th birthday this year and has much the same mission as the USS Constitution: defend American interests, secure sea lanes, and protect global commerce.
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