Sean Maday of Google moderated a discussion on "Space Innovation to the Tactical Edge" with Maj. Gen. DeAnna M. Burt, Special Assistant to the Chief of Space Operations; Marc Bell CEO of Terran Orbital; Steven J. Butow of the Defense Innovation Unit; and Chris Kemp, ...
The Air Force plans to complete testing of a full-scale blended wing body cargo/tanker aircraft within four years, according to the department’s new Climate Action Plan. The demonstrator could be a prototype for a future operational mobility aircraft or family of aircraft, and the plan ...
Unlike nearly every other innovative technology throughout history, Maj. Gen. DeAnna M. Burt believes the space enterprise emerged backward. “Every other domain started with an entrepreneur who built something,” Burt, the special assistant to the Chief of Space Operations, told an audience at AFA’s Air, ...
The Pentagon has put out a call for blended wing body aircraft concepts that could be applied to future military tanker and cargo aircraft as well as commercial aircraft, according to a solicitation posted by the Defense Innovation Unit. The Pentagon wants “concepts of design ...
The Senate confirmed William LaPlante to be the Pentagon's undersecretary for acquisition and sustainment on April 7. LaPlante is a seasoned acquisition and defense professional, having served in key technology jobs in the Pentagon--where he last was Air Force acquisition executive--to industry, where he was ...
The aerospace industrial base could pose a risk to U.S. national security because of lack of parts for aging systems, inattention to the future workforce, and the uncertainty that’s historically surrounded the success of space companies. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown ...
The Defense Innovation Unit and its partnering Defense Department organizations transitioned six projects to programs of record in 2021, awarding contracts to eight companies in categories that ranged from assessing cyber threats to launching rocket payloads.
The head of the Defense Department’s Silicon Valley innovation hub addressed news of Google’s interest in competing for a pending DOD cloud contract. Defense Innovation Unit Director Michael Brown said Google’s managers are “excited” to be back in the hunt for DOD contracts. Speaking during ...
The Space Force wants to better visualize the space domain, so the Defense Innovation Unit is asking companies—both from the U.S. and internationally—to send in ideas for a shot at funding. Having teased the Global Space Innovation Project on social media, officials with the DIU ...
Speaking during a virtual panel organized by the Center for a New American Security, director of the Defense Innovation Unit Michael Brown acknowledged that the Defense Department has a number of programs to bring in people necessary to bolster its tech efforts, such as the ...
Michael Brown, the Pentagon’s nominee to lead Defense Department acquisition, has withdrawn his nomination, citing ongoing scrutiny for allegedly circumventing hiring regulations while leading the Defense Innovation Unit. Pentagon spokesman John F. Kirby said July 14 that Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III received a ...
The Air Force is moving forward with a new, algorithm-driven system to help U.S. Northern Command better detect airborne threats. NORTHCOM and the North American Aerospace Defense Command, which are tasked with protecting the homeland from attack, depend on a slew of radars and other ...