US Strategic Command chief defends ICBM replacement program January 6 An unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile launches during an operational test on Oct. 29, 2020, at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. (U.S. Air Force) WASHINGTON The U.S. Defense Department must be allowed to press forward with replacing its Cold War-era Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles, the head of U.S. Strategic Command said Tuesday. “You cannot life-extend Minuteman III,” said Adm. Charles Richard, who spoke with reporters during a Defense Writers Group event. “It is getting past the point of [where] it’s not cost-effective to life-extend Minuteman III. You’re quickly getting to the point [where] you can’t do it at all.”
By Lauren C. Williams
Dec 23, 2020
The Defense Department has been pushing hard for digital modernization, but the massive hacking campaign that breached multiple federal government agencies via Solarwinds software has put some of its more nascent efforts at risk namely software factories. Yes, this creates a new kind of target for our adversaries. These digital factories that we are using to design things may become crown jewels and they ll have to be protected as such, Will Roper, the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, told reporters Dec. 18 during a virtual Defense Writers Group event.
Formula 1 vehicle racing digital engineering practices inspire US Air Force s Roper
by Pat Host
The US Air Force’s (USAF’s) acquisition executive is drawing inspiration from a Formula 1 racing team’s digital engineering practices as he tries to apply these concepts to the service’s next-generation aircraft.
Will Roper, USAF assistant secretary for acquisition, technology, and logistics (AT&L), said on 18 December that Formula 1 teams perform digital engineering across a racing season from their first conversation. These racing teams, he said, deal with 85% parts obsolescence year to year and digitally design, spiral, and evolve cars around such obstacles. They even optimise their vehicles for individual race tracks.
By Lauren C. Williams
NOTE: This story first appeared on FCW.com.
The Defense Department has been pushing hard for digital modernization, but the massive hacking campaign that breached multiple federal government agencies via Solarwinds software has put some of its more nascent efforts at risk namely software factories. Yes, this creates a new kind of target for our adversaries. These digital factories that we are using to design things may become crown jewels and they ll have to be protected as such, Will Roper, the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, told reporters Dec. 18 during a virtual Defense Writers Group event.
By Lauren C. Williams
The Defense Department has been pushing hard for digital modernization, but the massive hacking campaign that breached multiple federal government agencies via Solarwinds software has put some of its more nascent efforts at risk namely software factories. Yes, this creates a new kind of target for our adversaries. These digital factories that we are using to design things may become crown jewels and they ll have to be protected as such, Will Roper, the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, told reporters Dec. 18 during a virtual Defense Writers Group event.
That becomes an acute challenge for newer programs such as the Air Force s Cloud One and Platform One, which respectively centralize data sharing and tool development capabilities.