Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, says that the military services must try to trim the cost of their largest acquisition programs by at least 15 percent or risk not being “able to afford enough of them to fulfill all of our requirements.” The Pentagon acquisition czar, Kenneth Kreig, told the panel that the culprits for soaring weapons costs range from inaccurate estimates to addition of capabilities without regard for added cost. This was not news to Hunter, who has seen past Administrations and past Congresses wrestle with acquisition reform, which he termed a “rock” on which each “breaks its pick” every few years.
The Pentagon agency charged with building and operating U.S. spy satellites recently declassified some details about a Cold War-era surveillance program called Jumpseat—a revelation it says sheds light on the importance of satellite imaging technology and how it has advanced in the decades since.
