Defense Acquisition University’s Post

Check out this great article in the Defense Acquisition Magazine! - Have you heard of the T2-Transition Pathway? The spinout from DoD to labs to industry is an effective, but often overlooked, avenue for delivering innovative technologies to the warfighter. Col. Brett Cusker, USAF (Ret.), Austin Leach and Will Swearingen explain the benefits of Technology Transfer in their Defense Acquisition magazine article, “The Technology Transfer Pathway From DoD Labs to Industry.” The T2-Transition Pathway supports the defense mission in several important ways, the authors emphasize. It provides an essential link between DoD labs and the U.S. warfighter, engages nontraditional contractors and offers a cost-effective way to deliver new technology to warfighters. Cusker, Leach and Swearingen also highlight examples of technologies that have been successfully transitioned from DoD to industry, including TCP anticorrosion coatings, the BATDOK patient monitoring system and BUILDER facility maintenance software. To increase the use of the T2-Transition Pathway, the authors suggest developing a strong DoD T2 strategy, providing essential training, motivating lab leaders and changing policies. “Current policies that discourage transition of technologies from DoD labs need to be eliminated so that DoD can fully benefit from the innovations emerging from its own lab system—arguably the world’s largest R&D enterprise.” Read the full article and share your comments: https://lnkd.in/etQYNjE3 #technologytransfer #T2 #defenseacquisitionmagazine #DAU

💼 Productable is set to transform enterprise operations with a $1,290,000 award from the United States Department of Defense, under the United States Department of the Air Force. Their project involves an enterprise-wide use license and DoD hosting, including sprint support, technical configuration, and workflow management reports. 📊 This initiative is part of the Small Technology Transfer Research Program Phase III, focusing on applied research. The project will span 11 months, commencing on August 26, 2024, and concluding on August 25, 2025. #EnterpriseSolutions #Innovation #STTR #Defense

GAO looks at how DoD is using new procurement strategies to get products faster. But "GAO did not find a full structure of iterative development for the urgent capability, middle tier, and major capability acquisition pathways." "GAO is making a total of six recommendations to the departments of the Army, Navy, and Air Force to each revise acquisition policies and guidance for weapon systems and designate one or more new cyber-physical capabilities as pilot programs that provide lessons learned on using leading practices for each pathway." https://lnkd.in/g_crQwp6

Air Force Materiel Command Commander Gen. Duke Z. Richardson stood up the Integrated Development Office (IDO) Sept. 16, 2024 to acquire the right capabilities and field them faster and more effectively.  According to Gen. Richardson, IDO "moves us toward a single integrated acquisition demand signal that will galvanize AFMC and strengthen DAF warfighting capabilities.” IDO and the new provisional Integrated Capabilities Command's focus on prioritizing modernization plan alignment with force design to provide a cost-effective pipeline of competitive warfighting capabilities are consistent with the National Defense Strategy's increased emphasis on near peer competition. These steps are also consisted with the United States Department of Defense's increased focus on contested logistics, a 10-year multi-billion-dollar policy and funding priority that my Federal Budget IQ colleagues identified in 2022. Our defense team -- Becky Leggieri, Chauncey Goss, and Cameron Leuthy -- has done excellent work on this. #defense #contestedlogistics #publicsectorforecast

Is your #digitalthread strategy ready for DoD 5000.97? Paweł Z. Chądzyński will attend the Digital Engineering for Defense Summit later this week to discuss how #ArasInnovator enables the #defense digital engineering ecosystem to seamlessly work together and securely share information with the right stakeholders across the product lifecycle. This event will bring together leaders from across the DoD, military services, industry, and academia to support the integration of #digitalengineering tools and technologies to modernize the engineering practice of defense systems and support a #digitaltransformation across the DoD. Learn more 👉 https://lnkd.in/epp88_sR #PLM #innovation

📡 GATR TECHNOLOGIES, INC. is making significant strides with a $1,951,745 award from the United States Department of Defense  , specifically the United States Department of the Air Force and U.S. Special Operations Command. Their project on Baseband Hardware is set to revolutionize wireless communications equipment manufacturing. This initiative is part of the Small Business Innovation Research Program Phase III, and it will span 5 months, starting in July 2024 and wrapping up in December 2024. #SBIR #WirelessTech #Innovation

Exciting, and just published by RADM John Lemmon - a glimpse of this must-read: "Acquisition Standards Can Be a Two-Way Street". PEO(T) employs innovative development processes. We know the Navy must develop technology faster—but it has to do so affordably. That means the Navy and industry must continue to strengthen their partnership. One way to do so is through a modular open-systems approach (MOSA). ... PEO(T)’s Air Combat Electronics Program Office (PMA-209) (CAPT Jarrod Hair, PM) leads MOSA efforts for avionics, sensors, and mission systems across Naval Air Systems Command–affiliated programs. Its avionics architecture team promotes multiple open standards. One was developed and sponsored in-house called Hardware Open Systems Technologies (HOST), a technical standard for high-performance embedded computing. Historically, the best most small businesses could hope for was to be selected to perform work as a subcontractor to a major prime. But open standards create more opportunities for Tier 2 and 3 vendors to compete directly. ... more here: https://lnkd.in/gGeWrjd5 United States Department of Defense US Navy Department of the Navy Office of Small Business Programs Carlos Del Toro Lisa Franchetti Hon. Nickolas Guertin Heidi Shyu Nadine Geier Doug Small Don Blottenberger Carl Chebi Tom Rudowsky Jarrod Hair Tim Gramp Jon Drof PEO Aviation U.S. Army DEVCOM C5ISR Center Air Force Life Cycle Management Center Precise Systems, Inc. #modularopensystemsapproach #defensetechnology #defenseindustry

Vital Signs 2024: The Health & Readiness of the Defense Industry Base. We are proud to present the 2024 Vital Signs report, offering an analysis into the challenges and opportunities facing the U.S. Defense Industrial Base (U.S. DIB). David Norquist, our President and CEO, encapsulates our current challenge: “As a nation, we’re pressing on both the gas and the brake pedals,” highlighting the need for a balanced approach in our national security efforts amid global uncertainties. This year’s report is enriched by insights from over 1,300 participants across the defense community, including for the first time, government officials. This collaboration has yielded 40 actionable recommendations that address acquisition, funding, intellectual property, workforce, investment, and supply chain issues, setting a strategic direction for enhancing U.S. DIB’s resilience. Download the free report & consider to becoming a member of your local NDIA Chapter. 2024_vitalsign_final.pdf (ndia.org)

As the US Navy and United States Department of Defense confront increasingly complex challenges in contested electromagnetic environments, the integration of cutting-edge communication systems has become critical. This is where goTenna’s secure RF mesh networking solutions come into play. By incorporating goTenna’s Aspen Grove mesh protocols, the Navy is making significant strides to ensure communication resilience in even the harshest conditions. Whether operating in spectrum-denied environments or under the threat of advanced electronic warfare, goTenna’s technology ensures that vital data continues to flow, keeping military operations connected and effective. goTenna CEO Ari Schuler states, "What we're seeing with this [Navy] contract is a tactical approach to addressing spectrum-denied environments at a systems level. We’re taking it step by step because that’s how the Navy wants to proceed. The use of Aspen Grove at a systems level is also inspiring other Pentagon customers to reassess their own systems and explore what's possible." With rising demand across the DoD, goTenna’s innovative mesh networking technology is helping to future-proof military communications, ensuring mission success even in the face of extreme electronic warfare and other formidable challenges. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/gs3Tb_Zy #DoDInnovation #MilitaryCommunications #MeshNetworks #TacticalTech #USNavy #DoD #goTenna #ProjectOvermatch #MeshNetworking #ElectronicWarfare #SecureCommunications #AspenGrove #MilitaryTech #SpectrumDominance #InnovationInDefense #MilitaryFuture #TechForTactical

How can the Pentagon, Services, and Acquisition Community be more responsive to Combatant Commanders. - More partnerships between CCMDs and Acquisition/Innovation orgs like JMAD. - Modernize requirements, budget, and acquisition systems to enable greater speed and agility - Annual report cards from CCMDs - Increased Collaboration Matt and my latest Substack post to unpack this. https://lnkd.in/ggQuFn72