January 20, 2022 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security
September 7, 2018 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR
Can the US military still innovate quickly?
By: Daniel Cebul
WASHINGTON — In the era of great power competition, the speed at which competing militaries are capable to innovate and evolve could determine who would win in a war. In light of the need for speed, military innovation experts at the Defense News Conference tackled the question of whether the Department of Defense can still move quickly to develop new technologies and capabilities.
While the conversation surrounding innovation tends to revolve around the development of new technology, other organizational changes are arguably more important for military innovation. Col. Liam Collins, director of the Modern War Institute, said that while new technologies play a role, they are not the driving force of innovation.
“Sure, there were technological innovations that were part of it, such as new signals intelligence capabilities, but it was really more of an organizational or doctrinal innovation in which technology played a part,” Collins said. “Technology facilitates those other innovations, which are really often the most critical and often the less studied [of] what we focus on.”
One example of changes to organizational doctrine and behavior is the DoD's uptick in using other contracting authorities, or OTA. Shawn Black, vice president and general manager for electro-optical and infrared systems are Leonardo DRS, said that from the commercial side, these alternative contracting authorities are appealing because they move quicker and better communicate requirements.
“They represent a faster procurement cycle. You are able to move through the process of responding to a solicitation and providing a proposal much quicker. There is more flexibility in the intellectual property provisions,” Black said. "[Leonardo] has seen much-improved communication with the acquiring organization as you move through the process.
“Right up until the submission we are able to zero in right on what they are looking for.”
So how fast are these alternative options able to pump out contracts?
Mike Madsen, partner and head of Washington operations at Defense Innovation Unit, said his office is looking to “leverage the OT authority and put award prototyping contracts within 60 to 90 days."
"The fastest we've been able to do is just under that, and we are averaging 100 days,” he added.
Full article: https://www.defensenews.com/smr/defense-news-conference/2018/09/06/can-the-us-military-still-innovate-quickly
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May 12, 2024 | International, Land
Lockheed Martin Awarded $451 Million To Upgrade Additional US Army And International M270 Launchers
The award follows an initial agreement issued in 2019, and subsequent contracts calling for recapitalization to support mission readiness through 2050.
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February 8, 2021 | International, Aerospace
NATO names location for new military space center
By: Christina Mackenzie PARIS — The French city of Toulouse is to be NATO's new center for excellence in military space. The decision was taken by NATO on Jan. 28 but was officially announced Feb. 4. Germany had also lobbied to host the center, which will be set up at the CST (Centre Spatial de Toulouse), which is also to be the headquarters of France's Military Space Command, on the site of France's national space studies center known as CNES. The new center will be NATO's 27th center of excellence. These are military organizations that train and educate leaders and specialists from NATO member and partner countries. They assist in developing doctrines, identifying lessons learned, improving interoperability and capabilities, and testing and validating concepts through experimentation. NATO said the centers “offer recognized expertise and experience that is of benefit to the Alliance ... while avoiding the duplication of assets, resources and capabilities already present with the Alliance.” France already hosts one such center: the Center for Analysis and Simulation of Air Operations located on the Air Force base of Lyon-Mont Verdun. Hervé Grandjean, a spokesman for the French Armed Forces Ministry, said in a radio interview that “Toulouse is the beating heart of the space industry and research in France with the CNES, Airbus, Thales. ... The minister of the armed forces, Florence Parly, had decided to establish the space command in Toulouse, so we already have military personnel in situ. The choice made by NATO was logical, but we welcome it.” Françoise Dumas, president of the National Assembly's Defense Commission, said in a statement: “We are extremely pleased that NATO has recognized France's excellence in the space domain, in particular in the region of Toulouse. This is extremely good news for the city of Toulouse, the Occitanie region and the whole of the space ecosystem which is implanted there and constitutes a European reference.” The first of 42 experts, of whom 25 will be French, are expected to arrive this summer, the remainder being in place by 2025. https://www.defensenews.com/space/2021/02/05/nato-names-location-for-new-military-space-center/