The Pentagon released the executive summary of the study on acquisition review led by retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Ronald Kadish in December with little public flourish. It now joins the ranks of some 128 previous so-called acquisition reform studies that have cited various problems and recommended numerous fixes—all basically to no avail. For as the Kadish report points out, the current review revealed many of the same situations documented by earlier reviews, citing in particular the Packard Commission review of 20 years ago. As Norm Augustine points out in the foreword to the new report, it will be judged not by problem identification or proffered solutions, but by what it “actually makes happen.”
Anduril and General Atomics will develop their Collaborative Combat Aircraft for the Air Force, beating out Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman, the service announced on April 24. But any of the non-selected companies can compete to actually manufacture the eventual design, the Air Force said.