FREE TO READ: DOD officials defend rapid experimentation projects at key tech demo

EDINBURGH, IN -- The Rapid Defense Experimentation Reserve may not appear to reflect the first word in its acronym to Senate appropriators who have criticized RDER for failing to transition more weapon systems to the battlefield, but senior Pentagon officials suggest that lawmakers looking to cut the program don’t fully appreciate RDER’s challenges given the slowness of the traditional acquisition and budgeting cycle.

“Each RDER class is planned two years in advance, to align with the department’s budget process. The projects that you’ll see today were actually selected in ‘22, and if successful, they will transition in ‘25,” Marcia Holmes, principal deputy to assistant secretary of defense for mission capabilities, told reporters and other guests at Camp Atterbury, IN, last week.

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