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Transformational Change Comes to DoD Acquisition Policy DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE NEWS (OCT. 21, 2019)Jim Garamone In December, the Defense Department will fully implement an adaptive acquisition framework designed to speed acquisition and make the process more agile, a top DoD official said last week.

Ellen M. Lord, DoD’s undersecretary for acquisition and sus-tainment, said the program will be the most transformational acquisition policy change the department has seen in decades.

“This policy embraces the delegation of decision-making, tailoring program oversight to minimize unnecessary bu-reaucratic processes and actively managing risks based on the unique characteristics of the capability being acquired,” she said.

The policy is being tested and taught at the Defense Acquisi-tion University at Fort Belvoir, Virginia—and it’s just one of the policy changes in the offing at DoD.

DoD is also in the final stages of publishing the middle tier of an acquisition policy. This will allow program managers to prototype or field mature technology in an operational envi-ronment within five years, Lord said.

“We now have 50 middle-tier programs delivering military util-ity to warfighters years faster than the traditional acquisition system,” she said. Nineteen are in the Air Force, 11 in the Army, nine in the Navy, 10 by U.S. Special Operations Command, and one by the Defense Information Systems Agency.

The department is also set to release an interim policy to drive modern software development across DoD programs. The policy’s key tenet simplifies acquisition processes to enable continuous integration and delivery of software capability quickly.

DoD is also publishing an intellectual property policy. The policy establishes an intellectual property group that will de-velop DoD guidance, training, and assistance as part of the government’s effort to address protection of data rights.

Lord stressed that nuclear modernization remains the depart-ment’s highest priority. “Earlier this year, I briefed the Senate on nuclear modernization—helping ensure that the United States has a safe, secure, reliable, and credible nuclear deter-rent, now and in the future,” Lord said. “Delay is no longer an option. Systems can no longer be cost-effectively life-extended ... we are very thankful for the bipartisan support.”

Lord is also responsible for fixes to military housing. She said she’s working to improve the trust and accountability of DoD leadership to provide safe, healthy homes for our military fami-lies renting privatized housing.

She said the department will soon issue a Bill of Rights for military housing residents, as well as a document outlining residents’ responsibilities.

“We are planning for publication and implementation follow-ing the [National Defense Authorization Act] release,” Lord said. “The Senate NDAA bill included some very prescriptive requirements regarding these two documents. We will ensure our documents are aligned with congressional guidance. The Bill of Rights was based on input from military and veteran service organizations, Congress, our housing privatization partners, as well as resident surveys.”

She also said DoD is continuing to increase production capa-bilities to ensure F-35 aircraft—the department’s largest and most expensive procurement—are ready and capable.

“Across the international partnership and around the world, the F-35 continues to show us why it is the most advanced, lethal, and interoperable aircraft ever developed,” she said.

She noted the aircraft is on duty in the Pacific and in U.S. Cen-tral Command. “Our allies have made tremendous progress in integrating the F-35 into their tactical air fleets—as dem-onstrated by recent deployments from the [United Kingdom] and Italy,” Lord said.

Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment Ellen M. Lord speaks to reporters at the Pentagon, Oct. 18, 2019.DoD photo by Army Staff Sgt. Nicole Mejia

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“On F-35 production, we reached a handshake agreement with Lockheed Martin and continue to negotiate on the next F-35 lot of 478 aircraft.”

But the program is not moving as fast on integrating the F-35 Lightning II into the joint simulation environment. “They’re making excellent progress out on the range with F-35, but we need to do the work in the joint simulation environment,” she said. “We have collectively decided that we need to get that JSE absolutely correct before we proceed. So I’m going to make some decisions about when that full-rate production decision will be made shortly, and I’ll get back on them.”

This means full-rate production will probably slip 13 months, Lord said.

Lord is traveling to India to continue to build the burgeoning U.S.-India defense relationship. She will co-chair the ninth India-U.S. defense technologies and trade initiative group meeting.

“I’m excited to continue working with … our Indian major de-fense partner,” she said.

Secretary Geurts Addresses Senior Leaders at Advanced Warfighting SummitNAVY WARFARE DEVELOPMENT COMMAND PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICER (OCT. 22, 2019)Michael A. Brown Sr.

NORFOLK, Va.—James F. Geurts, assistant secretary of the Navy for Research, Development & Acquisition, ASN (RD&A), discussed speed of delivery in operations, testing, and acqui-sition with senior leaders at the Advanced Warfighting Sum-mit (AWS) hosted by Navy Warfare Development Command (NWDC) on Oct. 17.

Geurts, the featured AWS speaker, said his visit was “awe-some. Good to get a chance to sit down and talk to the folks who are thinking about the future and how we’re going to get at the future; whether that’s the operational side, how we’re going to test, or how we’re going to acquire. There’s no more important thing for us to be focused on right now.

“I think the key is creating the network and the relationships,” Geurts said. “That way we’ve got clear communication, part-nership, and collaboration all the way from our earliest part of research and development and all the way through operational employment and experimentation. I think NWDC is a key part in linking all of these different elements together.”

Geurts discussed the challenge of managing speed of deliv-ery versus the refinement of a capability before it goes to the warfighter.

“I don’t think there’s any one absolute,” he said. “The things that need to go fast require that we figure out how to do that quickly and effectively. Some things we want to take our time on, like if we’re developing a new technology or something that’s a little more risky. I think the real key is how do we always act with a sense of urgency. Some of that is how do we work together and leverage all of our collective strength instead of each trying to do it ourselves.”

The visit and presentation by Geurts was a perfect fit for a successful Advanced Warfighting Summit.

“The AWS forum provides Strike Group and Warfighting De-velopment Center (WDC) commanders, and other training and capability development organizations, an opportunity to capture current warfighting challenges and share insights to inform future force development and warfighting integration,” Navy Rear Adm. John F. Meier, NWDC commander, said. “We shape and focus the entire AWS around a specific theme, to include briefs and open, frank discussions with our govern-ment partners, along with prominent civilian thinkers and se-nior Fleet leadership.”

U.S. Navy Capt. Przemyslaw “Kaz” Kaczynski, head of the NWDC Operations Department, provided additional details about this key NWDC event. He said AWS is conducted twice per year.

This AWS is the 10th in the series. Kaczynski said, “We gather all CSG [Carrier Strike Group] and ESG [Expeditionary Strike Group] commanders, WDC [Warfighting Development Cen-ter] commanders, and other Fleet and Naval leaders together to capture current warfighting challenges and share insights to inform force development and warfighting integration. We shape and focus each AWS around a specific area of opera-tion, with briefs provided by national and defense intelligence agencies, prominent civilian thinkers, and relevant fleet and WDC leadership.”

“The summits traditionally include comments delivered by a senior leader to stimulate rich discussion from the groups as we focus on different problems or geographic Areas of Responsibility [AOR],” Kaczynski said. “Both venues provide senior fleet leaders an opportunity to collaborate, strengthen cross-domain warfighting capabilities, and hone approaches to dealing with competitors and potential adversaries.”

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Held semi-annually, the focus of the forums changes based on emerging threat capabilities, real-world events, emerging tech-nologies, and evolving material and non-material warfighting solutions. The events are designed to add value for all warf-ighters, starting with the Strike Group and WDC commanders, who benefit greatly from the opportunity to hear directly from guest speakers and subject matter experts.

“These events result in evolved knowledge, enhanced warf-ighting solution development, and strengthened relationships between critical capability providers across the fleet,” Kac-zynski said.

NWDC develops and integrates innovative solutions to com-plex naval warfare challenges to enhance current and future warfighting capabilities. Command professionals are focused on operational-level concept generation, warfighting develop-ment, and cross-domain integration to strengthen U.S. Navy warfighting.

James F. Geurts, left, Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Re-search, Development & Acquisition, ASN(RD&A), discusses speed of delivery in operations, testing, and acquisition with Dr. Michael Brown, public affairs officer, at the Advanced Warfighting Summit (AWS) 19-3, Navy Warfare Develop-ment Command (NWDC) Oct. 17. U.S. Navy photo by Ian Delossantos

For more news from Navy Warfare Development Command, visit http://www.navy.mil/local/nwdc/.

DoD Focuses Early AI Use on ‘Low Consequence’ Applications DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE NEWS (OCT. 28, 2019)C. Todd Lopez The Defense Department has a long way to go in developing artificial intelligence and applying it to the most pressing mili-tary problems. For now, DoD is applying AI toward humanitar-ian assistance and predictive maintenance, the director of the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center said.

‘’We start with low-consequence use cases for a reason,’’ Air Force Lt. Gen. John Shanahan said during a panel discussion last week at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. Because they are ‘’narrow’’ applications, he explained, it’s easier to assess results.

Shanahan said AI hasn’t yet achieved the readiness level to apply toward more complex issues such as nuclear command and control or missile defense, which carry a much higher risk if it doesn’t work as expected.

‘’I think that’s not where any of us are interested in heading right now,’’ he said.

One measure the department is willing to apply now is the perceived risk versus the potential reward for using AI in a par-ticular application, and reward outweighing risk is something Shanahan said he’s not seeing now.

‘’I can’t show the rewards right now on mission-critical sys-tems,’’ he said. ‘’On decision support, every single combatant command wants help on decision support systems: ‘How can I do an operational plan in two weeks instead of two years?’ That’s very, very challenging ... to take on.’

There is no part of the Department of Defense that cannot benefit from AI.’’

The reward is great for solving a problem like decision sup-port, he said, especially in terms of saving time, but only if an AI system can get it right—and that’s just not happening yet, Shanahan said.

‘’Nobody has proven that those rewards justify the risks we’re going to take right now,’’ he said. ‘’Everything that we do in the business I am in is about risk. Who incurs the risk? What’s the risk to mission? What’s the risk to force? Is it a risk worth ac-

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cepting? What I am having a hard time getting through right now is [that] I am not seeing the rewards outweigh the risk in those mission-critical cases.’’

Still, Shanahan said, he’s confident AI is going to be a big part of the department’s future.

‘’There is no part of the Department of Defense that cannot benefit from AI,’’ he said.

Problems beyond risk exist as well, he said, including over-coming hurdles in military culture, talent, and data. Military culture requires long-term planning for the development of new systems, he explained, and a new aircraft might take de-cades to deliver.

‘’There are a lot of people that want to go forward very quickly with AI capabilities in the department, but we live by five-year budget cycles and weapons system milestones that are measured in five- to 10-year increments, as opposed to how quickly can I take an algorithm, update it, and put it back into the field,’’ Shanahan said. ‘’We have a long way to go to re-ally embrace the speed and the scale of what’s happening in commercial industry.’’

The Defense Department, he said, is making progress in learn-ing to do acquisition and contracting more quickly. He cited as examples the Defense Digital Service, which hires top experts from industry and academia for short tours to help overcome defense challenges, and the Defense Innovation Unit, which provides funding to private sector companies to solve defense-related problems.

Losing Technology to Competitors Threatens Force Lethality DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE NEWS (OCT. 31, 2019)C. Todd Lopez The loss of technology to strategic competitors has a direct effect on the joint force’s lethality, the director of the Defense Department’s Protecting Critical Technology Task Force said.

And while those technology transfers—some legal and some not quite—are almost always unwanted, they’ve certainly been enabled by a lack of U.S. attention on stopping them, Air Force Maj. Gen. Thomas E. Murphy said during an Association of the U.S. Army forum on Russia and China.

‘’We are in a competition,’’ Murphy said. ‘’China and the oth-ers are stealing our stuff, and it is causing the erosion of the lethality of the joint force.’’

China, in particular, is employing a comprehensive national strategy to acquire critical U.S. technologies through both licit and illicit methods, the general said.

‘’They are pretty good about it,’’ he added. ‘’They are unre-lenting in hacking our businesses, both big and small. It’s no wonder why their stuff looks remarkably like ours. Look at their airlifter and their newest fighter. It looks just like a C-17 and an F-35. That’s not a coincidence. We’ve unwittingly become the [research and development] base for adversary capabilities and for our strategic competitors.’’

Murphy’s task force, stood up about a year ago, has been tasked with stopping the exfiltration of critical U.S. technology to adversaries. A big part of that, he said, starts with identify-ing what that critical technology is, ‘’If you protect everything as if it’s critical, we protect nothing very well,’’ he noted.

The task force now has a list that lays out critical programs and technologies, he said, and it is ensuring those technologies are prioritized and tiered, and that protections for that technology are based on the level of criticality.

If, for example, artificial intelligence technology is considered a ‘’Tier 1’’ technology—the most critical level—he is ‘’going to mandate a lot of things for you to do to protect it cyber-wise, personnel security, operational security, physical security, and the whole nine yards,’’ he said.

For those that develop and handle defense technology, he said, the systems that process information related to that technol-ogy must be secure enough to withstand intrusion from ad-versaries.

A recent audit shows many companies don’t have even the most basic of cyber security controls in place, the general said. The Defense Department is working on cybersecurity matu-rity model certification, or CMMC, for potential technology partners that would rate their readiness to safely process and store important technology information, he added.

This will have five levels, he explained. To get contracts to do technology work for the DoD, he said, industry or academia would need to achieve the CMMC level commensurate with the nature of the work.‘’So up your game, and get your cyber-security in order,’’ he said.

Security will also need to be built into the acquisition process from the onset, he said. Program managers tend to focus on

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cost, schedule, and performance when it comes to contracts, he noted, not the company’s ability to keep the technology it will be developing secure.

‘’I don’t believe today that we sufficiently consider security when determining with which companies to do business,’’ Murphy said. As a result, he added, there is limited financial incentive for companies to get more secure.

‘’We’re changing that as well,’’ he said. ‘’We’re going to work through a series of initiatives to elevate the importance of se-curity to ensure that it’s as important as cost, schedule, and performance.’’

The department must ensure industry and academia do a bet-ter job of knowing who is working with critical defense tech-nology—where their allegiance lies and who they really work for, Murphy said.

‘’China devotes significant resources at a national level to in-filtrate our universities and our labs,’’ he said. ‘’And they are doing it for a reason. They’ve even coined the phrase ... ‘Picking flowers in the U.S. to make honey in China,’ which I would say perfectly illustrates their deliberate plan to steal R&D, know-how, and technology to advance their military capability. They are not even hiding it.’’

Researchers shouldn’t be getting paid both by the U.S. gov-ernment and a foreign government at the same time, Murphy said, and competitors shouldn’t be allowed into labs where new technology has been developed.

‘’We can’t let our competitors into a lab where a breakthrough advance is discovered only to have them take it back to their country to advance their military capabilities,’’ the general said. ‘’We must know if you are a member of a foreign talent program. If we don’t ask the questions, we’re never going to know.’’

A completely legal way adversaries get U.S. technology is to simply buy it, Murphy said. ‘’This is why we are working to strengthen our ability to stop the unwanted transfer of de-fense-related technology,’’ he said. ‘’We need to do a better job of closing the export control loopholes, and getting ahead of these business mergers and acquisitions.’’

Doing nothing, Murphy said, might mean ‘’the lethality of the joint force is diminished to a point that is irreparable.’’

Robotic ‘Mules’ Set to Modernize Infantry Brigade Combat TeamsARMY NEWS SERVICE (OCT. 31, 2019)Rae Higgins & Monica ManganaroDETROIT ARSENAL, Mich.—The Army has selected General Dynamics Land Systems to produce the Small Multipurpose Equipment Transport, or S-MET, to lighten Soldiers’ loads by providing Infantry Brigade Combat Teams a robotic “mule” capability. The contract is valued at $162.4 million to produce 624 S-METs. Delivery to Soldiers begins in the second quarter of Fiscal Year 2021.

With the S-MET (pronounced “Ess-Met”) program, a phased, quicker acquisition plan allowed the Army to make informed program decisions based on direct Soldier feedback on com-mercially available technology—fielding equipment faster than typical processes allow.

S-MET’s basic operational capabilities include:

• Unmanned/optionally manned system• Carries 1,000 lbs., reducing Soldier weight burden by 100-

plus pounds each when in support of a rifle squad• Operates 60-plus miles in 72 hours• Generates 3 kilowatts of power (stationary) and 1 kilowatt

(moving), keeping equipment and batteries charged on the move

The Army issued a directed requirement in April 2017 for a rapid materiel acquisition aimed at unburdening infantry bri-gade combat teams with a robotic capability. To fast-track the acquisition process, the Army’s Program Executive Office for Combat Support & Combat Service Support awarded S-MET Phase I Other Transaction Authority (OTA) agreements (vs. traditional Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR)-based con-tracting methods) in June 2017 for eight platforms.

The S-MET program marks one of the Army’s first Middle Tier Acquisitions (MTA) for Rapid Fielding. This acquisition approach foregoes the traditional Department of Defense 5000.02 acquisition process, streamlining the delivery and fielding of capabilities within a period of five years. Use of the MTA approach was granted by Congress in the Fiscal Year 2016 National Defense Authorization Act Section 804.

“The S-MET program has focused on meeting the Army’s emphasis on enhancing Soldier lethality and rapidly fielding modernized capabilities. Our product management team for

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The S-MET program aims at lightening Soldiers’ loads by providing Infantry Battalions a robotic “mule” capability. A phased, rapid acquisition plan has allowed the Army to make informed program decisions from Soldier feedback on commercially avail-able technology—fielding faster than typical processes allow. U.S. Army photo

Applique and Large Unmanned Ground Systems undertook a great challenge to develop a strategy using experimenta-tion and technical demonstrations to streamline the S-MET acquisition process,” said Timothy G. Goddette, the Army’s program executive officer for Combat Support and Combat Service Support.

“Using an innovative contracting approach through an Other Transaction Authority, a flexible, collaborative tool designed to speed acquisition and modernization, the S-MET team awarded this capability within two and a half years. Using normal acquisition processes, it could have taken as much as five years,” he explained.

The initial candidate platforms participated in the S-MET Phase I Assessment held in September 2017 at Fort Benning, Georgia. The evaluation enabled the Army to learn about each of the candidate platforms’ capabilities and obtain operational feedback based on Soldiers’ interactions with the candidate S-MET systems. Based on the results in November 2017, the Army narrowed to four contractors to evaluate their respective

platforms during a 12-month (later reduced to seven-month) S-MET Phase II Technology Demonstration.

Phase II called for each of the four selected contractors to pro-duce 20 platforms. Four of the produced S-METs supported safety testing, Commercial-Off-the-Shelf operator manual verification, Instructor and Key Personnel Training, and Tac-tics, Techniques and Procedures (TTPs) development. Upon completion of safety testing, the Product Management Office for Applique and Large Unmanned Systems issued eight of each respective prototype S-MET to IBCTs within the 10th Mountain and the 101st Airborne Divisions in the first quarter of Fiscal Year 2019 for the seven-month Phase II Technology Demonstration. Results from the Technology Demonstration informed program decisions and further solidified S-MET TTPs.

Dismounted Infantry carry water, extra ammunition and other equipment and gear, imposing physical burden. When fielded, S-MET will unburden Soldiers and enable IBCTs to travel greater distances and carry more. Soldier experimentation,

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touch points, and evaluation have been key in obtaining direct warfighter feedback.

“Thanks to tremendous teamwork across the acquisition, re-quirements, operational, and resource communities, this is a great modernization success story,” said Don Sando, director for the Maneuver Capabilities Development and Integration Directorate, Fort Benning. “Key to this success was involving Soldiers early in the process to get their input and feedback during experiments and assessments.

“Direct Soldier feedback drove the requirements for the S-MET, and certainly helped determine what systems would work best for IBCTs to fill a capability gap,” Sando added.

This enhanced, modernized capability will unburden Soldiers of some of their physical load, thereby also improving Soldiers’ physical and cognitive capabilities. Future capability will fea-ture modular mission payloads tailoring the S-MET to specific mission needs, such as dismounted engineer mobility systems; remote weapon stations; casualty evacuation; and unmanned aerial systems and reconnaissance.

“Getting a modernized capability into the hands of IBCT Soldiers has been the team’s driving focus throughout this program,” said Lt. Col. Jon Bodenhamer, the Army’s product manager for Applique and Large Unmanned Ground Systems within the Program Executive Office for Combat Support & Combat Service Support. “Soldiers are why we do what we do, and I’m incredibly proud of the hard-working team that brought us to this point.”

Defense Innovation Board Recommends AI Ethical Guidelines DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE NEWS (NOV. 1, 2019)David Vergun Within the framework of the National Defense Strategy, which supports the research and use of artificial intelligence as a warfighting tool, the Defense Department’s AI Strategy calls for DoD to take the lead in developing ethical AI guidelines.

In July 2018, DoD leadership tasked the Defense Innovation Board (DIB) to propose a set of ethics principles for consider-ation. Since then, the DIB has conducted an extensive study that included numerous discussions with experts in industry, academia, and the private sector. The board also led mul-tiple public listening sessions, interviewed more than 100 stakeholders, and held monthly meetings of an informal DoD working group in which representatives of partner nations also participated. The board also conducted two practical exercises with leaders and subject matter experts from DoD, the intel-ligence community, and academia.

Board members met yesterday in a public meeting at George-town University in Washington to discuss and vote on their recommended AI ethics principles. These ethics principles received unanimous approval:

1 Responsible Human beings should exercise appropriate levels of judgment and remain responsible for the development, deployment, use, and outcomes of DoD AI systems.

2 Equitable DoD should take deliberate steps to avoid unintended bias in the development and deployment of combat or noncombat AI systems that would inadvertently cause harm to persons.

3 Traceable DoD’s AI engineering discipline should be sufficiently advanced such that technical experts possess an appropriate understand-ing of the technology, development processes, and operational methods of its AI systems, including transparent and auditable methodologies, data sources, and design procedure and docu-mentation.

4 Reliable DoD AI systems should have an explicit, well-defined domain of use, and the safety, security, and robustness of such systems should be tested and assured across their entire life cycle within that domain of use.

5 Governable DoD AI systems should be designed and engineered to fulfill their intended function while possessing the ability to detect and avoid unintended harm or disruption, and for human or automated disengagement or deactivation of deployed systems that demonstrate unintended escalatory or other behavior.

Defense Innovation Board members made clear that certain aspects of how DoD might develop and deploy AI already are covered by the department’s ethics frameworks, which are based on the U.S. Constitution, Title 10 of the U.S. Code, the Law of War, existing international treaties, and longstanding DoD norms and values.

Their proposed principles, the board’s members explained, are meant to address only new ethical AI questions that DoD’s existing ethics framework may not cover.

“The valuable insights from the DIB are the product of 15 months of outreach to commercial industry, the government, academia, and the American public,” said Air Force Lt. Gen. John N.T. “Jack” Shanahan, director of the Joint Artificial Intel-ligence Center. “The DIB’s recommendations will help enhance

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the DoD’s commitment to upholding the highest ethical stan-dards as outlined in the DoD AI Strategy, while embracing the U.S. military’s strong history of applying rigorous testing and fielding standards for technology innovations.”

The Defense Innovation Board is an independent federal ad-visory committee. Its members are leaders in AI and related fields from around the United States, working in industry, aca-demia, and think tanks. The purpose of their work is to conduct extensive studies on AI and other research topics, and present their findings to DoD leaders to aid in their decisions.

New Technology Has Major Role in Manufacturing Weapons of Future DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE NEWS (NOV. 8, 2019)David Vergun 3D technology will play a major role in how weapons of the future are manufactured, the Defense Department’s deputy director for Strategic Technology Protection and Exploitation said.

Kristen Baldwin said weapon parts could be quickly prototyped using “additive manufacturing” in which 3D parts are created from digital data models that are fabricated by the successive layering of materials. Additive manufacturing could play a role in the development of hypersonic weapons.

Speaking yesterday at the Defense One-sponsored panel on next generation manufacturing, Baldwin noted that traditional manufacturing in which parts are forged by machining and turning is much slower.

But additive manufacturing would allow researchers and de-velopers to test prototypes in an iterative fashion, so that an optimal design could be rapidly created, she said.

Baldwin said the U.S. is engaged in a global competition to develop these and other technologies—including artificial intelligence—and DoD’s goal is to maintain its technological overmatch.

She said maintaining this overmatch is something of a national imperative for all who can see the future and want to maintain economic and national security.

DoD’s Additive Manufacturing GoalsBaldwin outlined four department priorities for additive manu-facturing—security, human capital, capturing new technology, and adopting new technology:

• DoD is working hard to ensure future technology is se-cure. That means protection of intellectual property and critical information, ensuring a secure supply chain and building cybersecurity into every system. In past years, that wasn’t really done in a systematic fashion.

• The department needs to develop and grow the workforce that will use additive manufacturing and other advanced technologies. DoD personnel need to have the proper training and education to develop these technologies and use them in novel ways.

• DoD has to work with industry and academia to ensure it’s up on the latest technology. That means public-private partnerships — not just with big defense industries, but also small businesses and startups. DOD’s Manufacturing Technology Program is one way the department brings these partners together.

• Leadership needs to see the potential that new technolo-gies can bring to the warfighters. Also, these technologies need to be adopted throughout DoD. A March 21 memo-randum from the undersecretary of defense for Acquisi-tion and Sustainment directs the use of additive manufac-turing in support of materiel sustainment throughout the department at all the depots.

Michael McQuade, a member of the Defense Innovation Board, discusses artificial intelligence ethics principles dur-ing a public meeting at Georgetown University in Washing-ton, D.C., Oct. 31, 2019. Photo by Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class James K. Lee

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World’s Largest 3D Printer Speeds Up Prototyping and Production of Soldier Products/CapabilitiesU.S. ARMY COMBAT CAPABILITIES DEVELOPMENT COMMAND (NOV. 6, 2019)Jane Benson

NATICK, Mass.—The addition of the world’s largest 3D printer will lead to revolutionary innovations for the Soldier and bol-ster the already strong collaborative relationship between the University of Maine and the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Soldier Center.

The new 3D printer, which has been acquired by the Univer-sity of Maine, will enable the rapid creation of large products for the Soldier, as noted by Professor Habib Joseph Dagher, who is the executive director at the Advanced Structures and Composites Center, or ASCC, at the University of Maine.

“We are appreciative of the long successful partnership be-tween UMaine ASCC and the Natick CCDC Soldier Center, and the recent cooperation on large-scale 3D printing,” said Dagher. “The new printer is uniquely suited for accelerating the prototyping of large new products to benefit the Soldier.”

“The new 3D Printer will really help drive the collaboration,” said Col. Frank Moore, military deputy for the CCDC Soldier Center. “They are the only facility right now that can print on this size and this scale and do this kind of 3D manufactur-ing, which will revolutionize how the Army prototypes and manufactures shelters, vehi-cles, and other large systems.”

The CCDC Soldier Center is dedicated to using science and technology to ensure America’s warfighters are op-timized, protected, and lethal. CCDC Soldier Center supports all of the Army’s Moderniza-tion efforts, with the Soldier Lethality and Synthetic Train-ing Environment Cross Func-tional Teams being the CCDC Soldier Center’s chief areas of focus. The center’s science and engineering expertise are combined with collaborations with industry, DoD, and aca-demia to advance Soldier and squad performance. The cen-

ter supports the Army as it transforms from being adaptive to driving innovation to support a Multi-Domain Operations Ca-pable Force of 2028 and an MDO Ready Force of 2035. CCDC Soldier Center is constantly working to strengthen Soldiers’ performance to increase readiness and support for warfight-ers who are organized, trained, and equipped for prompt and sustainable ground combat.

CCDC Soldier Center’s Expeditionary Maneuver Support Directorate, or EMSD, has long worked with the University of Maine, particularly the university’s Advanced Structures and Composites Center, on a wide variety of advanced tech-nologies, including the Improved Modular Ballistic Protection System.

The new 3D printer, which was unveiled recently during a rib-bon-cutting ceremony at the University of Maine, will enable the creation/printing of new products and prototypes and can produce objects up to 100 feet long.

“The partnership between the University of Maine and the Soldier Center has resulted in a new 3D printing capability for large-scale structures,” said Claudia Quigley, director of the Expeditionary Maneuver Support Directorate at CCDC Soldier Center. “Until now, the use of additive manufacturing has been limited to small structures. This new capability will

Prototype parts are 3D printed in the new Advanced and Additive Manufacturing Center of Excellence to troubleshoot the machines at Rock Island Arsenal – Joint Manufacturing and Technology Center, Rock Island Arsenal, Ill., May 15, 2019. Photo by Debralee Best

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allow the Army to apply addi-tive manufacturing principles to the development of large structures, revolutionizing the Army’s ability to design and ultimately produce Army equipment, such as shelters and command posts. What was demonstrated at the ribbon cutting ceremony is only the beginning. There are opportunities to develop new high-strength structural composite materials, to opti-mize designs for new Army technologies, to develop new design processes for full-scale manufacturability, and then to rapidly produce Army equipment. This 3D printing capability for large structures supports Army readiness and modernization initiatives in a multi-domain environment.

This research work closely aligns with Army Directive 2019-29, Army Advanced Manufacturing Policy, and the CCDC Additive Manufactur-ing Science and Technology Plan. The Soldier Center looks forward to its continued part-nership with the University of Maine and other DoD part-ners to advance the state of the art in the 3D printing of large structures.” Overall, advanced manufacturing techniques, such as 3D printing, have the potential to enable the Army to more quickly address Soldier needs.

“The S-280, a vehicle mounted shelter, is the very first 3D-printed, full-scale shelter,” said Connie E. Miles-Patrick, team leader for EMSD’s Systems Development and Engineering Team at CCDC Soldier Center. “It was printed in 48 hours, sig-nificantly faster than other construction methods. For the Ex-peditionary Maneuver Support Directorate at the Soldier Cen-ter, this new 3D printing capability will allow Army scientists and engineers to prototype and evaluate new technologies, at full scale, for form, fit, and function early in the technology development process. EMSD develops structural technologies that are large—over 20 feet long and 8 feet high. By having the ability to evaluate these preliminary designs as full-scale

prototypes, we will be able to accelerate the technology de-velopment process and deliver new critical capabilities to our Soldiers more rapidly. The development of this capability is closely aligned with our AFCC mission and Army priorities.”

PEO for Presidential and Executive Airlift Directorate Talks Accomplishments, MilestonesAIR FORCE LIFE CYCLE MANAGEMENT CENTER PUBLIC AFFAIRS (NOV. 7, 2019)Brian Brackens

WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio—Ensuring the President, Vice President, senior State Department, and Department of Defense leaders have the air transportation they need to serve the nation is the mission of the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center’s Presidential and Executive Airlift Directorate.

The world’s largest 3D printer, which has been acquired by the University of Maine, will enable the rapid creation of large products for the Soldier and will bolster the already strong collab-orative relationship between the University of Maine and the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Soldier Center. The S-280, a vehicle-mounted shelter, is the very first 3D-printed, full-scale shelter. It was printed at the University of Maine in 48 hours, which is sig-nificantly faster than other methods of construction. The new 3D printing capability will enable Army scientists and engineers to prototype and evaluate new technologies early in the technol-ogy development process, helping to accelerate the process and deliver new critical capabilities to Soldiers more rapidly. Photo by Connie Miles-Patrick

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Comprised of approximately 300 employees located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Tinker AFB, and Hanscom AFB, the directorate is responsible for the acquisition and life cycle management of the VC-25A fleet, more commonly known as Air Force One, VC-25B – future Air Force One – as well as a host of executive and special mission aircraft, includ-ing the C-12, C-21, C-32, C-37, C-40, and E-4.

Brig. Gen. Ryan Britton, Program Executive Officer for the di-rectorate, recently sat down for an interview and discussed some of the organization’s recent successes and upcoming events.

Q: What are some of the milestones your team has coming up?

Britton: One upcoming milestone we have is Critical Design Review for the VC-25B program. What you do and lay out in critical design affects the entirety of the program. If you get it right up front, you increase the probability of success. We are not schedule-driven, but event-driven. Depending on the CDR results, we plan to begin making modifications to the aircraft around the start of 2020.

Currently, we are in the process of an interior refresh for the C-32 and C-21 fleet. The interiors of some of our C-32s have not been refreshed in over two decades and are now getting upgraded seats, new carpet, restored side walls, and overhead bins.

In addition, we will soon add two more C-37 aircraft to the existing 12 aircraft fleet. The first is slated for delivery in De-cember and another in March 2020. The team recently estab-lished a contract with Gulfstream that will allow us to continue to add to the C-37 fleet, as authorized. In fact, there are two additional C-37s in the FY20 President’s budget and currently with congress for approval.

Furthermore, the National Airborne Operations Center, Execu-tive Airlift, Airborne National Command Post, Take Charge and Move Out (NEAT) Analysis of Alternatives (AoA) study is underway. This AoA is an Air Force-led, Joint Service effort to ensure the Department of Defense pursues the most suitable alternatives for the recapitalization of the large capacity Execu-tive Airlift and National Military Command System airborne, fixed-wing layer fleets. The analysis is focused on the replace-ment of the current airframes performing the missions – E-4, C-32, and E-6. The AoA is coming to a close with a report and briefing to the National Leadership Command, Control and Communication system council early next CY, followed by a Congressional committee review and an OSD CAPE [Cost As-sessment and Program Evaluation] sufficiency review.

Q: The Air Force talks a lot about the importance of engaging in-dustry; what is your organization doing to make those connections?

Britton: One of the ways we are connecting is through Pitch Day. We have one coming up Nov. 13-14 at the Carillon His-torical Park in Dayton, Ohio and we are very excited. Industry is able to pitch their ideas and products and if we see an in-novative technology that supports our requirements, we can provide an “instant” contract award using SBIR [Small Business Innovation Research] funding. So far, we’ve already received 90 proposals for ideas to help us do our sustainment and mod-ernization programs better.

We are always looking for new technologies and new capa-bilities that will enhance the experience of those that utilize these executive aircraft. I’m hoping that in November we’ll start making some awards.

Q: What are some of the directorate’s recent accomplishments?

Britton: We’ve had a very productive year. The team success-fully delivered VC-25A tail #28000 to the Presidential Airlift Group at Joint Base Andrews after completing its multi-phase depot and communication modifications, spanning from No-vember 2018 – August 2019. The depot effort included 83 corrosion inspections, 63 structural inspections, 39 Airworthi-ness Directives, 300+ AFTO 103 user requirements, and 17 modifications, ensuring both presidential aircraft are available to support the president through next year. We also achieved Full Operational Capability for E-4B Secure Survivable Voice Communications, and we were approved to exercise Section 804 authorities on the E-4B Survivable Super High Frequency Program, which will enable us to deliver the capability one year faster.

Other accomplishments include world-wide Stage IV Fre-quency Spectrum Certification for the C-12 and C-21 to comply with U.S. and international airspace requirements for auto-matic dependent surveillance-broadcast. This complies with the January 2020 mandate, enabling these aircraft to access the global air space.

The E-4B team, working with Air Force Global Strike Command and the Air Force Materiel Command Centralized Asset Man-agement Office, executed $81.5 million of Fiscal Year 2019 funds to address E-4B supportability requirements, $36.2 million in the last month of the fiscal year. This additional funding positions us for success in Fiscal Year 2020, allow-ing us to maximize aircraft availability for this high-demand, four-aircraft fleet.

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12 | January-February 2020 | DEFENSEACQUISITION

The Big Safari Senior Leader Communication System team was able to use Fiscal Year 2018 fall-out funding to contract for the latest-and-greatest VIASAT modem. We are the first adopter of this technology, even ahead of the commercial market, that extends Ka-Band coverage over the Atlantic Ocean and Eu-rope – providing tenfold bandwidth improvement outside the CONUS. By April 2020, C-32, VC-25A, and C-40 aircraft will begin covering this capability.

Q: What are some of the challenges the directorate faces?

Britton: This portfolio, and specifically the aircraft we deal with, are the most important aircraft in the world. On America’s worst day, these are the aircraft that the nation turns to for continuity of government and to keep the nation running. With that, it’s a zero-fail mission set.

What we constantly deal with is trying to keep an aging fleet operational to support the President and trying to balance that with producing a new fleet.

This mission area is very diverse. We deal with everything from the very large Air Force One, down to the small C-21. Every day, no matter the platform, you could have the President on one plane, the vice president on another, the Secretary of Defense on another plane, and the Secretary of State on yet another plane.

The key thing is communication—we have to have very open minds and we have to work fast.

Q: As PEO, what’s your primary area of focus?

Britton: While the entire portfolio is critically important for safe, reliable transport of our nation’s senior leaders, my pri-mary focus—what I think about when I wake up and the last thing I think about before I go to bed—is delivering the VC-25B as soon as possible.

Q: Do you have anything you would like to add?

Britton: Coming into this organization, I’ve been impressed with the level of expertise, the technical capabilities and people leaning forward, trying to find new ways to do business. I’m se-riously impressed with the people I work with and very happy with what I’ve seen. It’s great to be part of the Presidential and Executive Airlift team…The Pride of the Nation!

Soldier Center, Harvard Collaborate to Advance Soldier TechnologiesU.S. ARMY COMBAT CAPABILITIES DEVELOPMENT COMMAND SOLDIER CENTER (NOV. 14, 2019)Jane Benson

NATICK, Mass.—The U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Devel-opment Command (CCDC) Soldier Center is working with Harvard University to research a wide range of technologies to enhance Soldier protection and performance. Soldier knowl-edge and input are playing a key role in the partnership.

“The collaboration between the CCDC Soldier Center and Har-vard University will help identify and address capability gaps to better meet the needs of Soldiers and will help to get new critical capabilities into the hands of our Soldiers more quickly,” said Douglas Tamilio, director of the CCDC Soldier Center. “Research will also benefit immensely from the ingenuity of both organizations and from the added insight made possible by the involvement of former and current Soldiers throughout the research, development, engineering, and testing process.”

The CCDC Soldier Center is dedicated to using science and technology to ensure America’s warfighters are optimized, protected, and lethal. CCDC Soldier Center supports all of the

Brig. Gen. Ryan Britton, Program Executive Officer for the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center’s Presidential and Executive Airlift Directorate talks recent accomplishments and upcoming milestones.U.S. Air Force photo

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DEFENSEACQUISITION | January-February 2020 | 13

Army’s Modernization efforts, with the Soldier Lethality and Synthetic Training Environment Cross Functional Teams being the CCDC Soldier Center’s chief areas of focus. The center’s science and engineering expertise are combined with collabo-rations with industry, DoD, and academia to advance Soldier and squad performance.

The center supports the Army as it transforms from being adaptive to driving innovation to support a Multi-Domain Operations Capable Force of 2028 and an MDO Ready Force of 2035. CCDC Soldier Center is constantly working to strengthen Soldiers’ performance to increase readiness and support for warfighters who are organized, trained, and equipped for prompt and sustainable ground combat.

Some of the research being performed by Harvard and CCDC Soldier Center comes under a Cooperative Research and De-velopment Agreement, or CRADA, between CCDC Soldier Center and Harvard’s John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, or Harvard SEAS.

“The Master CRADA will provide a streamlined way for the organizations to collaborate in diverse areas of mutual inter-est and leverage each other’s expertise,” said Sheri Mennillo, CCDC Soldier Center’s technology transfer manager who helped develop the Master CRADA between Harvard and CCDC Soldier Center.

Dr. Kevin “Kit” Parker is the technical point of contact for Har-vard for the CRADA. Parker is the Tarr Family Professor of the Bioengineering and Applied Physics Disease Biophysics Group, Wyss Institute for Biologically-Inspired Engineering, at the John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sci-ences at Harvard University. Parker, a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army, is also a professor in the department of Chemical and Life Sciences at the United States Military Academy at West Point.

Parker and other scientists in his lab are working closely with the Soldier Center.

“Collaboration with academia is a critical means by which we at Soldier Center can ensure that we can provide truly innova-tive ways to increase Soldier lethality,” said Dr. Richard Green, director of the Soldier Protection and Survivability Directorate at the CCDC Soldier Center.

“The Soldier Center is located near some of the premier ac-ademic research institutions in the world, and we regularly engage with local universities and universities that are far-ther away to help enable solutions that may not have been

thought possible in the past. Through collaborations, such as our collaboration with Kit Parker’s lab at Harvard, we learn more about the art of the possible, and academia gets a bet-ter understanding of challenges the Army faces as we work to modernize for the future fight.”

“Academic collaborations, especially those with distinguished local universities such as Harvard, provide CCDC Soldier Center the opportunity to leverage cutting-edge expertise and facilities to augment our own R&D capabilities,” said Dr. Kathleen Swana, a researcher at CCDC Soldier Center. “CCDC Soldier Center, in return, provides valuable scientific and Sol-dier-centric expertise and testing capabilities to help drive the research forward. Dr. Kit Parker’s experience and technical prowess also provide a unique perspective on potential science and technology solutions for the Soldier, and I look forward to seeing the outcome of future collaborations with his lab.”

The spark for the initial idea for the partnership came about when Parker and Brian Wood, the G-8 budget officer at CCDC Soldier Center and formerly a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves, were attending a Pacific Operational Science and Technology meeting. Parker and Wood realized the many potential benefits of CCDC Soldier Center working with Har-vard to advance technologies for the Soldier. Both men served in the same unit in the U.S. Army Reserve Sustainment Com-mand Detachment 8.

One of the projects that CCDC Soldier Center and Harvard University are working on together is the development and testing of ballistic protection nanofibers, which have the po-tential to be used to create lighter body armor.

Grant Gonzalez, one of Parker’s Ph.D. students, invented the nanofibers.

“We are reimagining Kevlar fibers, attempting to make them stronger and tougher, by decreasing their diameter to change how the polymer inherently organizes and crystallizes,” said Gonzalez. “These fibers will decrease the weight the warf-ighter carries without sacrificing protection.”

The Harvard inventor needed CCDC Soldier Center’s ballistics and testing expertise. Gonzalez, who has been the primary liaison between Parker’s laboratory and CCDC Soldier Center, has now graduated and is the first Ph.D. student to be jointly mentored by people at CCDC Soldier Center and Harvard.

“The capabilities of the CCDC Soldier Center allow us to quan-tify the successes of our fibers from the perspective and needs of the warfighter,” said Gonzalez.

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14 | January-February 2020 | DEFENSEACQUISITION

In addition to ballistic protection, Parker noted that the Kevlar nanofibers invented by Gonzalez have other potential uses.

“We’re working with Natick’s boot lab to test Kevlar nanofibers on the bottom of combat boots and doing abrasion testing,” said Parker. “When working with the Kevlar and ballistics, we realized that there were some unique abrasive properties, helping Soldiers better navigate lava rock and terra firma. The Kevlar nanofibers also have flame-retardant properties. So, if you are an armored crew member or if you are on an aircraft, in both situations, you may need to worry about an onboard fire. The idea is that we may be able to put Kevlar nanofibers into your flight suit or crewmember suit to give you more flame retardancy.”

Gonzalez explained that the fibers may also have applications for emergency responders, police, and firemen.

“These fibers have potential applications in ballistic protec-tion for police and puncture-resistant materials for emergency responders and firefighters,” said Gonzalez.

Former and current Soldiers are involved throughout the re-search, development, and testing process, providing all-impor-tant insight into identifying capability gaps to meet the needs of the warfighter.

“Army Reserve Soldiers bring a critical combination of exper-tise to the table – civilian education and professional experi-ence coupled with military experience and associated pro-fessional relationships from both sides,” said Wood. “Having current and former Soldiers involved in S&T brings expertise, experience, and the passion to follow the effort to completion. Further, these Soldiers may personally benefit from the S&T developments and new capabilities in an operational environ-ment. Through Soldiers’ knowledge and operational experi-ence, they bring critical insight as to what is needed and if/how the new equipment will be used.”

Parker served several combat tours in Afghanistan and has first-hand knowledge of issues and capability gaps faced by Soldiers on the battlefield. Parker’s lab at Harvard includes many military veterans, including veterans who did tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as tours in Africa and the Philippines.

“So these are folks with first-hand battlefield experience,” said Parker. “This is unprecedented. There are multiple layers of expert input going into the science.”

West Point cadets also participate in Parker’s lab at Harvard. CCDC Soldier Center works collaboratively with West Point cadets as well.

“I want cadets to understand the role of science and technol-ogy in providing for the force,” said Parker. “It’s important to get users involved in design processes very early on. In addi-tion to Soldier research, the idea is that we are training tech-savvy leaders for the next generation of Army combat leaders, and we are training the next generation of civilian scientists and engineers to support national security.”

Parker pointed out that there is great potential for Soldiers to work in labs after uniformed service. He noted that this experience builds on, and exploits, their value to the nation and supports the model of Soldier for Life.

The U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Com-mand Soldier Center is working with Harvard University to research a wide range of technologies to enhance Soldier protection and performance. Soldier knowledge and input are playing a key role in the partnership. The boot pictured here is coated with a nanofiber reinforced polyurethane boot sole. The nanofibers were developed by Harvard and are being tested by the CCDC Soldier Center. The nanofibers have some unique abrasive properties that may help Soldiers better navigate lava rock and terra firma. The nanofibers may also serve as ballistic protection in other items and have the potential to be used to create lighter body armor. Photo courtesy Harvard University

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DEFENSEACQUISITION | January-February 2020 | 15

“I have a bunch of military veterans, including Army, working in my lab,” said Parker. “Taking these junior enlisted and junior NCOs and bringing their subject matter expertise, technical knowledge, and applications orientation to the basic science lab is extremely unusual and points to what I call ‘Soldier in-novation.’ Junior enlisted and NCO corps expertise are one of the greatest untapped resources that our defense research complex needs to access.”

Parker said he greatly admires the brain power available at CCDC Soldier Center. He is eager to expand his research ties throughout CCDC Soldier Center and is eager to establish a working relationship with the Combat Feeding Directorate in particular.

“Soldiers have unique dietary needs,” said Parker. “I think peo-ple don’t realize that when you sit down to eat an MRE [Meal, Ready to Eat], that’s a scientific and technology parade.”

Both Wood and Parker are dedicated to serving the Soldier and believe the CRADA will lead to even more collaborative efforts in the future.

“Since the CRADA reaches into the entire School of Engineer-ing and Applied Sciences, we anticipate that this agreement could lead to breakthrough developments in multiple technical areas,” said Wood.

“I want to be able to say that the Soldier in the field is better off because of something we did in the lab,” said Parker. “We want to make a major contribution to the Army’s future.”