Acquisition
The USS Gerald R. Ford, USS Thomas Hudner, USS Ramage and USS McFaul sail in formation during a drill while underway near Naval Station Norfolk, Va., March 5, 2023. (Photo by Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Malachi Lakey)
Longtime Naval Analyst Delivers Prescription for Solving U.S. Shipbuilding Woes
Stew Magnuson, National Defense
Retiring naval analyst Ronald O’Rourke offers his prescription for resolving the chronic shipbuilding backlogs faced by the US Navy.
- Competitive Compensation: To solve the critical labor shortage, the Navy must significantly increase wages and benefits to outcompete both the service sector and more comfortable, air-conditioned manufacturing alternatives.
- Leadership Longevity: Effective acquisition requires a specialized executive with deep shipbuilding expertise who remains in office long enough to enforce bold decisions and maintain accountability for long-term results.
- Holistic Fleet Design: The Navy must move beyond simple lists of ship quantities to perform enterprise-level design that balances outward mission threats with the inward reality of American industrial capacity.
- Steady Production Drumbeat: Instead of chasing "mirage" end-points for fleet size, the Navy should maintain a steady procurement rhythm and manage total force size through flexible retirement decisions at the back end of a ship's life.
- Flexible Class Transitions: To avoid the risks of lead-ship delays, the Navy should treat the first vessel of a new class as a flexible prototype while continuing to build the previous class to ensure production continuity.
SECNAV Phelan Stands up 5 New Offices for Navy, Marine Acquisition
Mallory Shelbourne, USNI News
The Navy has announced the establishment of five new Program Acquisition Executive (PAE) offices — Maritime, Undersea, Industrial Operations, Strategic Systems Programs, and Marine Corps— to streamline the procurement and sustainment of military platforms.
- Comprehensive Control: PAEs will exercise "cradle-to-grave" authority over their portfolios, encompassing technical contracting, program offices, and lifecycle sustainment functions.
- Massive Realignment: Approximately 70% of the workforce and functions from traditional systems commands, such as NAVSEA, will be transferred to these PAEs.
JUST IN: New Digital Platform Aims to Help Small Businesses Enter Defense Market
Josh Luckenbaugh, National Defense
The Defense Department has introduced a digital tool called LYNX to streamline how small businesses and tech innovators navigate the complex process of military contracting.
- Streamlined Market Entry: The LYNX platform serves as a full lifecycle tool designed to help new participants navigate the complexities of doing business with the Pentagon. It allows companies to establish a readiness baseline and identify market opportunities and even assists them in obtaining their Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC).
- Supply Chain Stability: Assistant Secretary Michael Cadenazzi noted that traditional spending on prime contractors has failed to stabilize the middle supply chain, leaving many smaller firms near bankruptcy. The LYNX initiative seeks to move beyond "more money down the same pipes" by creating direct paths for diverse suppliers.
Defense & Strategy
ChatGPT image via Small Wars Journal
Human-in-the-Loop or Loophole? Targeting AI and Legal Accountability
Khyati Singh, Small Wars Journal
This article examines the tension between the operational advantages of AI-driven decision-support systems in warfare and the resulting legal accountability gap under International Humanitarian Law. While these technologies promise greater precision and reduced collateral damage, the author warns that the traditional "human-in-the-loop" model often functions as a loophole, reducing human operators to mere rubber stamps for "black box" algorithms. To resolve this paradox, the text proposes a framework of meaningful human control based on three benchmarks: the ability to comprehend the machine's logic, the provision of sufficient time for critical evaluation, and the retention of ultimate legal agency.
Military Operational Thinking in an Age of Artificial Intelligence
Anders McD Sookermany, War on the Rocks
This article explores how artificial intelligence influences military planning, suggesting that the technology acts as an amplifier of existing operational traditions rather than a neutral tool. The authors identify a tension between three primary schools of military thought—analytic decomposition, situational judgment, and systemic orchestration—noting that AI naturally favors data-driven, analytic frameworks while potentially obscuring human intuition and adaptation. They argue that the perceived decline in "operational art" is not merely a failure of discipline, but a clash of underlying logics exacerbated by automated systems that prioritize procedural checklists over deep problem engagement.
Industry
U.S. Central Command Public Affairs via DVIDS.
Magazine Breadth — Not Just Depth — Is Key to Munitions Industrial Base Resilience
Jerry McGinn, War on the Rocks
To ensure long-term resilience of its munitions supply, the Pentagon must balance "magazine depth" with "magazine breadth" by developing and deploying a robust mix of high-low munitions.
- The Depth Strategy: The Department of Defense has signed long-term, large-volume framework agreements to ramp up production of high-priority interceptors while utilizing multiyear procurement authority to provide industry with a stable demand signal for some munitions.
- The Breadth Imperative: True resilience requires "magazine breadth," or a high-low mix of munitions that includes affordable, rapidly manufacturable options to counter low-cost adversary threats.
- Global Capacity: Leveraging international allies through licensed co-production and fostering second-sourcing opportunities for critical components can significantly expand the overall capacity of the industrial base.
Government Research Reports
AMC Test and Evaluation Squadron conducts benchmark
FY2025 Annual Report for the Office of the Director, Operational Test & Evaluation
Office of the Director, Operational Test and Evaluation
Airlift Aircraft: Background and Issues for Congress
Congressional Research Service
The Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) System
Congressional Research Service
Arms Sales: Congressional Review Process
Congressional Research Service
Research
A Navy F/A-18E Super Hornet takes off from the flight deck of the USS Nimitz in the Philippine Sea, March 23, 2023. (Photo by Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Hannah Kantner)
Department of War Acquisitions & the Integration of Requirement Readiness Levels
Benjamin Mannino & Andrew Smith, Naval Postgraduate School
This research identifies procedural shortcomings in the Department of War (DOW) requirements and acquisition processes that delay the rapid acquisition of evolving technologies. Through an analysis of defense acquisition reforms, recent conflicts, and a collaborative case study between the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) and Naval Special Warfare (NSW), this research suggests that current DOW acquisition processes contribute to requirement rigidity and misaligned Key Performance Parameters (KPPs), resulting in increased program risk. This research proposes a framework to formalize operational feedback processes focused on agile requirements-generation that is responsive to an adaptive threat environment. By focusing on the development of requirements identified through capability gaps, this study offers recommendations to improve agility and responsiveness within the Defense Acquisition System (DAS) to better align materiel solutions with warfighter needs.
Fortifying Technologic Innovation in National Defense: Strategic Security Imperatives for Research and Acquisition
Diane DiEuliis and James Giordano, National Defense University
This commentary examines new Department of War initiatives designed to strengthen security protections for defense-funded research within the U.S. defense industrial base. The authors argue that safeguarding innovation is now as critical as accelerating it, particularly as strategic competition intensifies in fields such as artificial intelligence, biotechnology, quantum information science, and advanced materials. The article highlights the importance of a “security-by-design” approach that integrates risk assessment, monitoring of foreign influence, and protection of intellectual property throughout the research and development process. It also emphasizes collaboration among government, academia, and industry to protect sensitive technologies while preserving scientific openness. Strengthening research security will help sustain U.S. technological leadership, protect the integrity of defense innovation ecosystems, and ensure that emerging technologies support long-term national security objectives.
Events
2026 Undersea Warfare Spring Conference
NDIA
San Diego, CA
23-25 March 2026
Xponential Europe
24- 26 March 2026
Düsseldorf, Germany
Mobilizing Capital for Defense: Tactics and Recommendations
NDIA Emerging Technologies Institute
26 March 2026
Virtual Event
Defense Manufacturing Conference
30 March - 2 April 2026
Orlando, Florida
Sea-Air-Space
Navy League of the United States
19-22 April 2026
National Harbor, Maryland
Xponential USA
11-14 May 2026
Detroit, MI
Converge @ NPS
Naval Postgraduate School Foundation
22-24 July 2026
2026 Air and Space Summit
Potomac Officers Club
30 July 2026
One more thing...
Pioneering privates: Recruits in New York take the oath administered by Lieutenant George Kneller, as the Marine Corps takes its first steps toward integrating women into the force. U.S. Marine Corps
The Curious Case of Opha May Johnson
First Sergeant Linda Scott, U.S. Marine Corps, Naval History
Opha May Johnson has long been celebrated as the first woman Marine, but as a civil service transfer, Johnson was admitted without the intense vetting faced by other female recruits. The author argues that her status was an administrative convenience that pales in comparison to the service of the "100% percent girls" who met the Marine Corps rigorous standards.
- Manpower Strategy: The Naval Act of 1916 allowed for the enlistment of women to handle clerical duties, freeing able-bodied men for sea duty during the exigencies of World War.
- Privileged Entry: Unlike subsequent recruits, Opha May Johnson was an existing civil service employee who bypassed the rigorous competitive screening process and was immediately promoted to sergeant.
- Broken Commitment: Johnson served only six months before requesting a release for her own convenience, whereas her peers were obligated to four-year contracts.
- Elite Standards: The other 304 women faced a brutal selection process with a less than 1% acceptance rate, involving intense character vetting and rapid-fire stenography examinations.
- Enduring Devotion: Exemplary recruits like Martrese Thek demonstrated profound commitment by fulfilling their original contracts and returning to serve as officers through World War II and the Korean War.
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