McNellis: R&D investments can give industry competitive advantages

Industry could gain a competitive advantage by focusing on research and development that benefits the Defense Department's goals, according to the Pentagon's deputy assistant secretary of defense for space, strategic and intelligence systems.

Speaking at a breakfast in Washington Friday, John McNellis, who recently moved from industry into his new role at the Pentagon, said DOD's major acquisition reform initiative Better Buying Power can be a boon to industry. These comments came in response to a question regarding a Better Buying Power tenet that encourages industry to spend its own money to get ahead of DOD's requirements.

"There is a perspective that some have that I definitely don’t share that the defense industry moves at a certain speed that aligns itself with the so-called labyrinth that exists in the acquisition side," McNellis said, noting that was not what he witnessed.

Rather, he said his experience was that industry is focused on understanding what DOD’s evolving needs are and "making investment decisions that are prudent for them relative to being able to address those needs near term, as well as long term."

McNellis said the increase in competition incentivizes industry to invest in areas that would help the Pentagon, and not someone's "pet science project."

Better Buying Power has enabled the industry to focus on a more precise allocation of resources, so that during competition there are "multiple viable and innovative concepts," McNellis said. In addition, he noted that if industry got the investment right, it should give companies a cost-competition advantage that benefits both industry and the department.