Key DOD tech nominee would check for 'undue bias' toward prime contractors

By Tony Bertuca  / October 7, 2021

The nominee tapped for a senior Pentagon technology post told lawmakers today he will work to increase the participation of commercial companies in defense acquisition and, if confirmed, is planning to review the department’s current prototyping strategy and processes for any “undue bias” favoring large, traditional defense contractors.

David Honey, currently a special assistant to the director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, has been nominated for deputy under secretary for research and engineering. He told the Senate Armed Services Committee during a hearing today he believes non-traditional companies would improve Defense Department acquisition outcomes, especially in emerging technology.

“Having greater participation as a prime contractor by new entrants from the commercial world could significantly increase marketplace competition and benefit the department,” he said in written answers to advance policy questions.

“If confirmed,” Honey wrote, “I will review our prototyping strategy and practices to ensure that there is no undue bias toward traditional prime contractors or system integrators, and that qualified commercial companies (both large and small) are considered for these functions. Improving participation by commercial companies in prototyping will give them valuable insight into the department’s needs, and will also allow the department’s workforce to become more familiar with new concepts.”

During the hearing, Honey also pledged he would work to declassify some government research so technologies DARPA and other DOD entities are working on could be more rapidly commercialized.

“There's tremendous benefit to getting the right technologies out into the commercial world,” he said. “When the commercial world takes on some of these technologies, their ability to produce them at scale gives us yield, uniformity and reliability that we just can't get any other way.”

Meanwhile, Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks recently said DOD’s fiscal year 2023 budget would emphasize rapid experimentation and prototyping.

Honey, who said his work at DARPA has familiarized him with the challenges related to transitioning developmental technologies into programs of record, committed to working to help innovative companies get across the notorious “valley of death.”

“If confirmed, I will continue to place emphasis on appropriate transition rates that emphasize getting technologies across the ‘valley of death,’ without creating a risk-averse culture that marginalizes disruptive innovation,” he wrote.

Heidi Shyu, the under secretary of defense for research and engineering whom Honey would be supporting, recently said she is preparing proposals for new Small Business Innovation Research funding to help technologies bridge the valley of death.

Shyu, during her confirmation hearing in May, provided the committee with written answers regarding her view of the ideal use of SBIR funding.

“An example of prior transition successes: the prime contractor worked closely with the SBIR program offices and established an Industry Day with small companies,” she wrote. “The prime contractor then stated the technical challenges that they have and requested ideas from small companies. The prime then worked closely with the small companies on creating the SBIR phase 1 contract and then the phase 2 contract. Subsequently, the technology was successfully transitioned into a program of record with the SBIR program offices and established an Industry Day with small companies. The prime contractor then stated the technical challenges that they have and requested ideas from small companies. The prime then worked closely with the small companies on creating the SBIR phase 1 contract and then the phase 2 contract. Subsequently, the technology was successfully transitioned into a program of record.”

Meanwhile, Honey also pledged that, if confirmed, he would work to establish and maintain a commercially viable microelectronics production sector in the United States.

“It is critical that the Department of Defense support and leverage the efforts of the interagency to establish partnerships with commercial industry to enable department-assured access to state-of-the-art microelectronics technologies,” he said.