Developing a Data Sharing Pilot on Condition-Based Maintenance
NDIA’s Logistics Division and Emerging Technologies Institute (ETI) convened experts from government, industry and academia to develop the outline for a pilot program. This program is intended to improve data sharing with an eye towards increased effectiveness and efficiency in one pilot area: Condition-Based Maintenance activities. Workshop participants came from traditional defense primes, nontraditional software and data analysis companies, maintenance service providers and customers of maintenance products and services. As such the group was able to access a variety of perspectives and experiences in shaping the pilot proposals. The workshop addressed a variety of technical and policy issues surrounding the use of data, including the importance of data sharing and data standards, but also relevant concerns associated with security and the handling of proprietary data.
This paper summarizes the workshop’s general findings and describes a set of specific actions that should be taken by the government, including the Congress, and industry to establish a set of high value, high impact pilot programs in data sharing to improve CBM+ initiatives in DoD. These proposed data sharing pilot activities could be established as a partnership between the Department of Defense and appropriate private sector components.
To learn more, download the whitepaper here.
The Modernization Quandary
Since the Cold War ended, several factors have converged presenting the perfect storm of national security challenges for the Department of Defense (DoD) and United States as a whole. A series of decisions – or lack of decisions – resulted in delayed defense modernization programs. Near-peer competitors, such as China and Russia, are dramatically increasing their capability while the U.S. faces an erosion of domestic industrial capacity in critical sectors. And the DoD now is under significant budget pressure as it maintains legacy systems and capabilities, while responding to the needs and expectations of executive branch leadership, Congress, and the American people. This is the Modernization Quandary.
The Emerging Technologies Institute hosted its first workshop in an ongoing series focused on accelerating the delivery of emerging technologies into the hands of American warfighters. Given that these issues will take far more work than a single workshop, ETI published a report with the key findings to continue the conversation. The report centered on prioritizing the technologies to maximize capability for cost, examining process changes to improve delivery, and reducing legislative barriers to fielding the technologies. Given current budget constraints, it will take a concerted effort— with Congress, industry, and academia—to streamline processes and increase the tolerance for risk in technology development. Updating acquisition processes and leveraging existing authorities for flexibility and transparency will be necessary, as will strengthened communication between Congress and the DoD.
To learn more, download The Modernization Quandary here.
State of the Space Industrial Base
NDIA’s Emerging Technologies Institute (ETI) brought together the authors of the recent State of the Space Industrial Base 2022 report, published by the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), and leading industry experts, to discuss critical steps the United States must take to maintain its leadership position in space vis-à-vis China. Specifically, the authors provided an in-depth look at key issues covered in the report that are essential to the ongoing success of the space industrial base and to the future of U.S. leadership in space. Topics included the need for the U.S government to articulate a national vision for space; ways that the U.S. can accelerate domestic manufacturing and strengthen supply chains for the space industry; given increased Chinese investment in science and technology (“S&T”), steps the U.S. must take to maintain its leadership in global research and development and to transition innovative products and services into operational use; and industry perspectives on the health of the space industrial base and how the government and industry can work together to promote innovation, strengthen the sector, and ensure that the U.S. is the technological leader in this critical area.
This report outlines some of the key observations and recommendations derived from the webinar panels.
To learn more, download the whitepaper here.
