Pentagon acquisition boss William LaPlante is optimistic that the pause in new F-35 fighter deliveries will not drag on for long—but the problem does highlight a “constant” issue with the supply chain, he said. The halt in deliveries came after Honeywell, a subcontractor for the ...
Senior U.S. officials emphasized the long-term security of Ukraine and other European allies, announcing a new $2.2 billion aid package and plans to bolster their respective defense industrial bases. The Department of Defense also announced another $675 million drawdown of security assistance for Ukraine, including ...
The U.S. will take years to reconstitute the stocks of Stinger and Javelin missiles provided to Ukraine to fight Russia, a fact that puts the vulnerabilities of the defense industrial base in high relief, according to former Pentagon officials who testified before the Senate Armed ...
The Pentagon and the defense industrial base need to up production lines for munitions, drones, and other key weapons systems—and quickly—the nominee to lead the Defense Department’s acquisition enterprise told a Senate panel.
The Defense Department faces a future of high-price, sole-source contracts, reduced innovation, and possible critical shortages if it doesn’t take steps to increase competition and the number of suppliers in the defense industrial base, according to a new Pentagon report. But changing the conditions creating ...
The National Defense Industrial Association has given the climate for the defense industrial base a failing grade based on data in the association's latest "Vital Signs" annual report. Supply chain issues, workforce availability, cyber espionage, reduced investment in basic research, and insufficient leadership in key ...
Using new digital methods to design a future Air Force fighter costs more than the traditional approach, but subsequent iterations could be done faster and less expensively, senior Air Force officials said Sept. 22. They also cautioned that the “Digital Century Series” is not synonymous ...
The Air Force is still in the infancy of its push toward digital acquisition systems, but it won’t go back to traditional methods because the threat, the need for speed, and increasing costs demand a new way of doing business, acting Assistant Secretary for Acquisition, ...
House Armed Services Committee members are launching a task force to dig into defense supply chain issues, the panel said March 4. Reps. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) and Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) will co-chair the group as it looks at threats to and vulnerabilities in the defense ...
The Pentagon has formally created a group of defense companies that can get broader access to classified programs, hoping that more insight will make contractors more efficient and cost-conscious. In a Dec. 15 memo to the defense industrial base, Pentagon acquisition boss Ellen M. Lord ...
President Donald J. Trump on Sept. 30 issued an executive order declaring U.S. dependence on China for rare-earth elements a “national emergency,” directing a multi-agency review and action before the election to establish domestic sources of the materials, which are used in a range of ...
The Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff doesn't see a need for a new roles and missions debate, preferring to let the services pursue their own new capabilities—such as long-range fires—and sort them out afterwards. Gen. John E. Hyten, in an interview set ...