CCAs and hypersonics hitting production lines means supply chain audits just became mission critical. If the fabs or powder metallurgy slips, the whole stack fails.
Of the several reasons why I've been against a $1.5T defense budget, what we're seeing play out with reconciliation is near the top of my list. It boxes in the Department, and Pentagon leaders are now facing suboptimal choices as a result of betting big without first fully understanding the table dynamics. (Meanwhile, DoE's Genesis Mission, which is one of the most promising AI projects in the world, faces budgetary strangulation at birth--with costs well under $1B for the entire thing. Not good, Mav, not good.)
DPA for accelerated munitions production sounds promising, but every company involved wants/needs a greater upfront funding commitment by the Pentagon before scaling. Big capex bills and long-term hiring commitments require shared agreements between the Pentagon and industry.
Huge fan of the RJ, but adding a drone mission would change how that platform is viewed. Crossing the Title 50 ISR & Title 10 streams in this way would shift it into a different category, with lots of potential unintended consequences. Worth exploring, but be careful what you ask for.
Jack, Agree that a massive increase in budget comes with many challenges and the split between the traditional budget and reconciliation is not ideal, but that's the dynamics in Washington these days with Congress. As expected, the Department put some high priority items in reconciliation to drive support. In an ideal world there would be agreement on a topline number, say $1.3T, and negotiate the priority areas to fund (munitions, drones, shipbuilding, GD, and maybe some AI). The budget, in parallel with the transformation efforts both within the Department and working with industry to modernize how we acquire and deliver capabilities is needed. The DoD and industry have short changed critical investments in infrastructure and production for decades that needs proper attention now.
CCAs and hypersonics hitting production lines means supply chain audits just became mission critical. If the fabs or powder metallurgy slips, the whole stack fails.
Of the several reasons why I've been against a $1.5T defense budget, what we're seeing play out with reconciliation is near the top of my list. It boxes in the Department, and Pentagon leaders are now facing suboptimal choices as a result of betting big without first fully understanding the table dynamics. (Meanwhile, DoE's Genesis Mission, which is one of the most promising AI projects in the world, faces budgetary strangulation at birth--with costs well under $1B for the entire thing. Not good, Mav, not good.)
DPA for accelerated munitions production sounds promising, but every company involved wants/needs a greater upfront funding commitment by the Pentagon before scaling. Big capex bills and long-term hiring commitments require shared agreements between the Pentagon and industry.
Huge fan of the RJ, but adding a drone mission would change how that platform is viewed. Crossing the Title 50 ISR & Title 10 streams in this way would shift it into a different category, with lots of potential unintended consequences. Worth exploring, but be careful what you ask for.
Jack, Agree that a massive increase in budget comes with many challenges and the split between the traditional budget and reconciliation is not ideal, but that's the dynamics in Washington these days with Congress. As expected, the Department put some high priority items in reconciliation to drive support. In an ideal world there would be agreement on a topline number, say $1.3T, and negotiate the priority areas to fund (munitions, drones, shipbuilding, GD, and maybe some AI). The budget, in parallel with the transformation efforts both within the Department and working with industry to modernize how we acquire and deliver capabilities is needed. The DoD and industry have short changed critical investments in infrastructure and production for decades that needs proper attention now.
excellent article. good data, well presented