William LaPlante, president and CEO of Draper and a former Air Force acquisition chief, received Senate confirmation to serve as undersecretary for acquisition and sustainment at the Department of Defense, the Air Force Magazine reported Thursday.
During his Senate confirmation hearing in late March, LaPlante, a 2022 Wash100 Award winner, said the U.S. needs more production lines that can manufacture missiles, drones and bombs, which he said serve as a deterrent to potential adversaries.
LaPlante, who was nominated in late November, served as assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition, technology and logistics from 2014 to 2017. After the leaving the service branch, he worked at Mitre, where he served as senior vice president for national security sector.
He previously served as a commissioner on the Section 809 Panel, a congressionally mandated group tasked with conducting reviews of defense acquisition policies and offering recommendations to Congress.
