acquisition | The Contracting Education Academy

February 10, 2021 By cs

DoD is centralizing space acquisition, but still has bugs to work out

The Air Force is reorganizing its space acquisition office to better support the Space Force and other new space entities, but there are still questions surrounding exactly how the Pentagon will consolidate its space procurement.

Earlier this month the Air Force revamped its space acquisition shop by splitting it into three directorates.

“We have gone from an organization that was largely focused on policy and providing advice and counsel to the Air Force secretary to one that is now focused on, or will be focused on, acquisition, architecture, and then policy and integration,” Shawn Barnes, who is performing the duties of Air Force assistant secretary for space acquisition and integration, told reporters last week.

The three directorates are each run by a colonel and will focus on the three areas Barnes mentioned: acquisition, architecture, and policy and integration.

“Underlying those three key directorates,” Barnes said. “I have a number of subject matter experts that effectively work for all three of those directorates. They’re set up into different teams based on mission areas. We have a mission area related to precision navigation, timing and communications. We have a team that is focused on space control, a team that is focused on launch in space logistics, and then a team that’s focused on space control.”

Keep reading this article at: https://federalnewsnetwork.com/air-force/2021/01/dod-is-centralizing-space-acquisition-but-still-has-bugs-to-work-out/

January 26, 2021 By cs

Just what you’d guess: Federal discretionary spending is up

The government contracting industry is a complex marketplace.

No other industry is as dependent on the successes and failures of federal policy, regulation, and Congressional leadership.

Our ecosystem lives or dies by it. Elements of the sector ebb and flow depending not only on the needs wants, whims, and votes of American citizens but also the global stage, all of which command our ~$1 trillion competitive landscape pipelined through Federal discretionary spending.

Vendors enter into the fray with dollar signs in their eyes, and at a glance, they’re right to be excited about the potential. But those of us in-the-know understand working with the federal Government isn’t an opportunity to print money, and what is considered a steady investment still has its ups and downs.

Here’s an examination the state of federal discretionary spending (procurements and grants) over the last ten (10) … yes 10 … years, as we close out the decade not with a whisper – but with a boom.

Keep reading this article at: https://thepulsegovcon.com/article/a-decade-in-federal-discretionary-spending/

December 9, 2020 By cs

Combat simulators should also improve acquisition, DoD leader says

Members of the defense industry working on modeling and simulation should focus on building tools that can be used across multiple different functions in order to not only improve training, but accelerate acquisition and fielding timelines, according to a Defense Department official.

“Think about software that will allow us to support acquisition development, training of troops, and test all simultaneously,” Alan Shaffer, deputy defense undersecretary for acquisition and sustainment, said Dec. 1st.

Modeling and simulation is used to train warfighters on virtual battlefields. Advancement in modeling and simulation technologies powered by digitization and open systems should enhance training from individual warfighters all the way up to the force level as well as revolutionize design, acquisition, sustainment and test, Shaffer said during the National Training and Simulation Association’s annual Interservice, Industry, Training, Simulation, and Education Conference.

“We are now seeing the evolution from single platform simulators and single purpose simulations to advanced multi-platform virtual systems,” Shaffer said. “But beyond that, there is also a strong convergence in modeling and simulation capabilities being driven by the technological revolution, and the digitization of the world, and the promise of open systems.”

Keep reading this article at: https://www.defenseone.com/technology/2020/12/dod-needs-simulations-shorten-acquisition-timelines-official-says/170380/

November 16, 2020 By cs

Navy awards contract for next generation of submarines expected to cost $110 billion

The Navy recently awarded a $9.4 billion contract to begin construction work on what has for years been its biggest modernization priority: A project to build a new class of at least a dozen nuclear-armed ballistic missile submarines that’s expected to cost $110 billion once all is said and done.

The contract for the new Columbia class went to General Dynamics Electric Boat, one of only two U.S. firms capable of building nuclear-powered vessels. It is the first class of ballistic missile subs the Navy has begun since the 1970s, and will eventually replace the current fleet of Ohio class boats when that fleet reaches its retirement age decades from now.

Senior Navy leaders have long said that the program — which they see as vital, since submarines are the most “survivable” part of the military’s nuclear weapons arsenal — will be placed at the front of the line for funding and construction capacity for years to come. That makes it especially important to hold Columbia’s costs in check so they don’t swallow the rest of DoD’s maritime acquisition budget.

James Geurts, the assistant secretary of the Navy for research, development and acquisition said there’s every reason to think the Navy can do that.

Keep reading this article at: https://federalnewsnetwork.com/navy/2020/11/navy-awards-contract-for-next-generation-of-submarines-expected-to-cost-110b/

November 4, 2020 By cs

Pentagon R&D spending still lags behind an otherwise healthy Defense budget

The last few years of increases to the Defense budget have been, in general, good news for contractors. But it’s an uneven picture.

**Click on image above to see full report.**

In particular, Pentagon spending on research and development still hasn’t recovered from the cuts imposed by the 2011 Budget Control Act even as spending on products and services has risen significantly.

Those findings are part of the latest annual analysis of DoD contract spending data by the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Overall, CSIS found contract spending has risen 35% since 2015, the low point of the Defense drawdown. That figure includes a 4% increase between 2018 and 2019.

But when it comes to R&D spending, the recovery has been much, much slower. In 2019, the department spent about $30 billion on R&D contracts. That’s well below what it spent in 2012, and even adjusting for inflation, about the same as pre-9/11 level spending.

Keep reading this article at: https://federalnewsnetwork.com/defense-main/2020/10/pentagon-rd-spending-still-lags-behind-an-otherwise-healthy-defense-budget/

The Air Force is reorganizing its space acquisition office to better support the Space Force and other new space entities, but there are still questions surrounding exactly how the Pentagon will consolidate its space procurement.

The government contracting industry is a complex marketplace.

Members of the defense industry working on modeling and simulation should focus on building tools that can be used across multiple different functions in order to not only improve training, but accelerate acquisition and fielding timelines, according to a Defense Department official.

The Navy recently awarded a $9.4 billion contract to begin construction work on what has for years been its biggest modernization priority: A project to build a new class of at least a dozen nuclear-armed ballistic missile submarines that’s expected to cost $110 billion once all is said and done.

The last few years of increases to the Defense budget have been, in general, good news for contractors. But it’s an uneven picture.

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