Just like old times.
The list, which was cut from the previous 14 critical technologies, is intended as "a guide for where the department should focus its investment, research and development efforts" to meet the most urgent needs of the warfighter.
Dig Deeper
As the Pentagon demands faster, more focused solutions from industry, executives this week considered the tradeoff of risks in reaching Sec. Hegseth's "85 percent solution" standard, Defense One reports. Hear more from Michael in his conversation with CNBC.
In the weeks ahead, the lingering effects of the shutdown will be felt as funding mechanisms vary and companies rely on contracts to stay viable.
A draft of the document shows the creation of an “AI Litigation Task Force” at DOJ to take on restrictions at the state level that some fear would otherwise slow innovation.
President Trump signed the agreement during Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s White House visit on Tuesday.
The commission includes a former deputy defense secretary and HASC chair, and aims to build a blueprint for nation-wide defense industrial mobilization.
The government hit the ground running to address business conducted during the shutdown, with contracts paying out to primes and nontraditionals.
The service is adopting "a more incremental capability delivery tempo" for faster, more agile and iterative procurement.
Traditional development cycles are no match for the eye-watering pace of change in the world of drone and counter-drone tech.
In a world where artificial intelligence and unmanned systems are key to readiness against China, the US should develop a domestic supply chain, writes Kevin Chen.
The reality of industry necessitates that companies advertise their capabilities to government buyers and potential investors.
The continuing resolution ordered agencies to reinstate employees who had been laid off, but inconsistent follow-through is leaving some in limbo.
As NDAA conversations wrap up, the House Armed Services Committee vice chairman expects the bill, which echoes the Pentagon’s recent acquisition policy changes, to reach the floor by mid-December.
Dig Deeper
Against the backdrop of the new Jan. 30 funding deadline, Roll Call reported this week that the top four appropriators in the House and Senate met for the first time since the end of the shutdown with "no breakthroughs" to discuss full-year funding, including for defense.
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More In Depth
"When the same vendor has maintained responsibility for a critical system throughout its entire lifetime, the prospect of transferring responsibility is frightening."
This analysis says the current moment is a "rare shot to fundamentally transform acquisition into a warfighter-focused, schedule-driven capability delivery system."
The U.S. must strengthen supply chains and ramp up munitions and ship production to meet high-end warfighting capacity requirements.
Something a little different this week. Join this conversation about leadership and lessons learned to mark the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Marine Corps.
The head of MC sits down with Tyler Sweatt of Second Front to talk about software, marketplaces and connections in the defense industrial base.
Editor's Notes
Hands down, the theme of the week is industry. From the Office of the Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering announcing a narrowed critical technology list, to the Atlantic Council trying to capitalize on the legacy of the World War II “Freedom’s Forge” mobilization effort, to our entire “More in Depth” section being dedicated to acquisition and supply chain—it’s as if the doors of government were flung back open and the gears of industry are revving up to make up for lost time. We’ll see how much actually gets done in the few productive weeks of funded government remaining, but this feels like a long game has started.
Before I get into what I actually want to talk about this week, I have to call out the laughably discordant funding situation, given the backdrop of the all hands on deck, full steam ahead messaging coming out of the Pentagon. We’re all on the same page. Go faster to put solutions in the hands of warfighters sooner. However, pushing up against another short-term funding deadline right now feels like slamming the accelerator after you just put three bucks of gas in your car. Add this to the list of reasons unreliable funding hurts national security.
We’re a few weeks into this little experiment with The MC Post, so for the readers we’ve picked up along the way, I think this week’s focus on industry gives the perfect opportunity to explain what we’re about. In the days since Sec. Pete Hegseth announced long-awaited changes to the department’s acquisition policies, ’speed’ has been the word on everyone’s mind. To be clear, saying ‘go’ doesn’t itself solve the problem. There is no panacea for speed. It requires overhauling how we source technologies, how we measure success, how we process contracts, how we invest and scale, and how we align industry with warfighter needs. There’s at least one item missing from that list: We must also overhaul how we connect and share information. Truly creating a faster paradigm requires recognizing that the dynamic organism that is the defense industrial base—from government, to R&D, to academia, to industry, to investors, and beyond—is a dynamic entity. To engage it effectively, all parts need the ability to connect and share ideas and information.
Fundamentally this is what we are doing with Mission Cultivate. We recognize that the existing pathways for connection are insecure or siloed (or both). The team that brings you this news roll-up is the same team that built and recently launched MC—the more secure, more discreet networking platform for defense and national security professionals. Our goal with MC is pretty simple: create the common digital architecture to reimagine how we all connect to support the communities, events and opportunities that make this ecosystem work. When we do that, we enable faster connections and better collaboration. Our managing principal, Robert Fehlen, says it way better than I could, so I encourage you to check out his conversation with Second Front CEO Tyler Sweatt in the video section of this week’s edition. This news brief every week is our contribution to the effort for speed.
Read the news. Share your thoughts. Find the others. Connect the dots.
Simple enough, right?
Happy reading,
| Beau Downey, Editor
The views represented in this commentary are my own and do not constitute endorsement by the Department of Defense or the US Government.
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“Unfortunately, outside of a narrow scope of the executive branch, there has been precious little conversation about the strategic concept behind Golden Dome.”
Federal agencies can now directly acquire AI solutions via GSA’s Multiple Award Schedule, which will help federal workers increase efficiency.
The U.S. Navy’s first “portfolio acquisition executive” under the Pentagon’s new acquisitions paradigm will consolidate programs across 18 offices.
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DIU is soliciting commercial nuclear power technologies as the U.S Army has selected nine potential installations for microreactor power plants.
The petition, which had been introduced in June, quietly reached the needed 218 votes this week and is expected to pass through both chambers.
This analysis details that military software supply chains are particularly vulnerable to downstream effects from cybersecurity incidents.
A pilot successfully controlled an MQ-20 Avenger drone from the cockpit of an F-22 in a big step for “crewed-uncrewed teaming operations.”
The team took on the problems of attracting new and innovative companies and changing organizational culture.
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