Rep. Rob Wittman, R-Va., said this week that the Department of Defense (DoD) needs to pick up the pace on its acquisition processes, arguing that in a world where threats evolve faster than ever the Pentagon can’t afford to fall behind.
“Our acquisition process is designed around a very arduous process of writing requirements … doing request for proposals, making decisions, and then getting into production. Those things take years … and are very pricey. The challenge is by the time you get that system into place, many times it’s based on antiquated countermeasure the adversary is doing,” the congressman said during a Hudson Institute even on Oct. 17.
Rep. Wittman acknowledged that officials and departments within the Pentagon are making strides in innovation and getting critical technology into the hands of warfighters. He highlighted work by the Special Operations Command to “see technology and have a fast acquisition process [to] get that technology for special operators.”
“And that is a very effective method,” Rep. Wittman said.
But the problem is that these successes are “the exception rather than the rule” to the broader challenges facing the department’s acquisition process, he said.
“The acquisition process has to change, [and] it has to change at scale,” the congressman said.
Wittman pointed out that part of the problem with the DoD’s current acquisition process – beyond its sluggish pace – is its risk-averse attitude, which he believes is a critical mistake.
“We have to take some risks. Some of them are going to work, and some of them are going to fail,” he said, adding that “time is of the essence” and it’s critical that the department use emerging and critical technologies and get them to the hands of warfighters “at the speed of relevance.”
