Affordability will be one of the prime objectives for space acquisition going forward, said Gil Klinger, deputy assistant defense secretary for space and intelligence. “We are stressing affordability even in our ongoing programs. We are stressing with our industrial partners to place as much emphasis on engineering for cost control and affordability as we have historically placed on engineering for performance,” Klinger told members of the House Armed Services Committee’s strategic forces panel last week. That raises the question, “How well do we have to do something?” he added. In other words, it may not be possible to strive for the 100-percent solution anymore. “This is a fundamentally different business model for many of us in the space acquisition community,” said Klinger. (Klinger’s prepared testimony)
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth vowed to undertake far-reaching reforms on the way the U.S. military buys weapons, promising a sweeping overhaul of the way the Defense Department determines requirements, handles the acquisition process, and tests its kit. The fundamental goal, which Hegseth underscored in a 1-hour and 10-minute speech…
