Jim McAleese, founder of McAleese & Associates and 2019 Wash100 Award recipient, wrote about a recent press briefing where Pentagon acquisition chief Ellen Lord discussed ongoing procurement reform and innovation efforts at the Department of Defense.
McAleese noted that Lord, also a 2019 Wash100 awardee, hinted at proposed fiscal 2020 National Defense Authorization Act compromise on DoD’s middle tier acquisition programs for an upcoming conference between the House and Senate Armed Services Committees.
MTA works as an interim rapid prototyping and fielding approach to ensure the delivery of technology platforms to the military within a period of 2 to 5 years.
“On middle tier of acquisition, since November 2018, we have expanded from zero to more than 50 programs,” Lord told reporters in the news conference held Monday. “We’re scheduled to publish formal policy in December, and I’m happy that we’re seeing positive results for our warfighters, taking an average of over two years out of each of the programs.”
McAleese reported the U.S. Air Force has the most programs that leveraged Section 804 authority, including hypersonic missile, overhead persistent infrared and extended range weapon programs.
He also cited the U.S. Army’s Mobile Protected Firepower and the U.S. Navy’s Medium Unmanned Surface Vessel as falling under Section 804 programs.
