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Congress, Pentagon, Space
Frank Kendall, Secretary of the Air Force, spoke at the September 2021 annual Air Force Association conference. (AFA)
Space Symposium – The Defense Department is asking Congress to initiate new development programs before the final budget is approved, a new set of authorities aimed at meeting new threats or advancing game-changing technology, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said. Today.
“We’re in a very intense race for military technology supremacy,” Kendall told reporters on the sidelines of the Space Foundation’s annual space symposium, which would require changes to the way the department gets its funding.
He said the Air Force Department alone has 12 new startups and has been waiting to start for more than a year because of the delay in next decisions. “That’s a lot to give, and it’s completely unnecessary,” he said.
The legislative proposal [PDF]Approved by the White House Office of Management and Budget and forwarded to Congress on April 12, the so-called “Rapid Response to Urgent Technological Developments or Threats” gives the DoD the authority to legally obtain:
“Initiate new start-up development activities for initial design review to maturity stage:
(1) Use of sudden technological advances for national defense; Or
(2) Rapid response to emerging threats.
Kendall first floated the concept publicly at the annual McLean Defense Budget Conference in March. Speaking at a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee hearing on Tuesday, Kendall called on relevant parties to support the proposal.
“Our proposal expands rapid acquisition authority, so the military departments can respond more quickly to emerging threats and use improved technology. Within reasonable limits, this legislative proposal would allow progress on compelling national security needs to be delayed until the next submission and enactment of the President’s budget. “I’ve been pushing for years, and we look forward to working with Congress on this proposal,” he said.
It is not clear at this point how much support it will get in Congress. Members did not weigh in on the proposal during the Kendall or Hunter hearings. But speaking to reporters today, Kendall stressed that the concept would only allow for preemptive actions and would not block congressional oversight authority.
“This is a certain authority. “It allows us to get past the initial design review stage in the design, so we can outsource requirements, do system engineering, and maybe do some risk mitigation to move the program forward,” he said.
But this time, Kendall said, things could be different — lawmakers sitting on the House and Senate Armed Services and Oversight Committees are increasingly concerned about the growing threat, especially from China.
We’ve had a really good response from the people I’ve talked to. “We’ve spent a lot of time educating our four committees in particular about the gravity of the threat and what’s going on and how important the timing is. So I think there’s a willingness to discuss this kind of initiative that might not have happened in the past.”
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