The Importance Of Innovation

I’m not a fan of concurrent development. It has cost us dearly and we are nearing a quarter of a century of development on the F-35 and it is still not fully capable of what were sold on it being able to do.

I recently gave a talk on the U-2 and the SR-71. Both aircraft, that flew at the same time, one still used and the other still missed. Kelly Johnson took one idea that involved using what was available and and handy and the other he created from the unknown. They were used for different missions with different needs in the area of reconnaissance.

I believe that we can still learn from the capabilities of the majority of what we have in service like the A-10, the F-15, 16 and F/A 18. I’m a fan of the Gripen in its latest form as well. While not stealthy, they are very functional. What started with an article on how many of the Red Air Training contractors there are now with the Air Force and what they are flying, became notes and then a brief talk. There is value in what we have and value in what we can create.

The SR-71’s predecessor, the A-12 Oxcart, started as an idea in late 1957 and flew in late April 1962. Johnson and his team marched into the unknown with slide rules and paper. Following Boyd’s statement about the importance of ‘the guy flying the crate’ and looking at our aggressor training, I think we should not invest so heavily in what is to come. We should go forward with something, but I’m hoping we have the people who can make it happen faster than 25 years.

I’ve been thinking lately that we are on the cusp of changes in Military Aviation, not unlike what our country experienced in the years before World War II. Changes in the companies, mergers, and some new start ups with some new ideas. My Hope is not so much that we are technologically capable in the development but that we are timely with success.

Louis

Another aspect of the "death spiral."
M

www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/articles/2019/11/5/the-pentagons-climate-problem

The defense acquisition community faces a climate problem. A political climate of suspicion is impeding the Pentagon’s efforts to take advantage of private industry expertise to deliver important capabilities to America’s warfighters.

Secretary of Defense Mark Esper called out the delegitimizing and debilitating nature of the climate of suspicion when, during his confirmation hearing, he observed: “I think the presumption is, for some reason, anybody who comes from the business or the corporate world is corrupt.” This phenomenon contributes to unnecessary delays to critical contract awards, discourages recruitment of leaders with industry experience, and deters strategic collaboration with industry partners.