Tuesday, April 23, 2024
Tuesday, April 23, 2024
Today’s INSIDER Daily Digest has the latest on Pentagon acquisition reform efforts, the Army’s new manufacturing policy and Turkey’s suspension from the F-35 program, among other news.
The Pentagon is readying several key reform initiatives, including a rewrite of acquisition regulations:
Lord says key acquisition reforms near completion
This fall will be an inflection point for Defense Department acquisition chief Ellen Lord, who is working to finalize a series of acquisition reform initiatives intended to simplify and accelerate the military’s procurement process.
Alexis Ross of the Army met with reporters yesterday to explain how the service’s new advanced manufacturing policy will help it compete with China:
Army releases new advanced manufacturing policy
The Army today released a new policy on advanced manufacturing that aims to bring the service up to par with foreign powers who have fully embraced new ways of building weapon systems, as well as the commercial sector, inspired by the National Defense Strategy.
Identifying U.S. suppliers to replace Turkish companies that were set to help build the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is proving to be a pricey task:
Turkish F-35 suppliers will cost triple Ankara’s JSF investment
The tab to identify U.S. suppliers to replace Turkish companies providing parts for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program could be as much as three times the amount Ankara contributed to the development of the new weapon system, more than washing out any financial benefit associated with Turkey's early role in the program.
The Marine Corps commandant said this week the service is preparing for lower budgets:
Berger: Marine Corps moving ahead under premise of 'flat or declining' defense budgets
The Marine Corps is charting its new path forward for a period of great power competition with the understanding that defense budgets will remain stagnant or decrease, according to the service’s top officer.
Dave Drabkin of the Section 809 panel predicts the abuse of other transaction agreements will result in Congress barring their use.
Section 809 panel chair warns against ‘abuse’ of other transaction agreements
The head of the Section 809 panel says Congress will peel back the Defense Department’s ability to use other transaction agreements if it doesn’t reign in the “abuse” of such agreements.
Lastly, the Air Force Research Lab’s executive lead for Air Force 2030 implementation told reporters this week that the Transformational Capability Office has been operating virtually to gain momentum:
AFRL setting up program office to manage vanguard programs
The Air Force Research Lab wants to establish a new management structure that oversees the vanguard effort intended to transition mature technologies into programs of record.