The U.S. Air Force found that the branch needs to accelerate its procurement process through its fiscal year 2018 annual acquisition report. Heather Wilson, secretary of the Air Force and 2019 Wash100 Award winner, said in statement published Tuesday that the military service needs to remain competitive and avoid the usage of procurement processes from the Cold War era.
Wilson confirmed the experimentation and prototyping authorities provided by Congress serve as factors in the acceleration of the military service’s procurement process and may help mitigate potential risks. “These authorities granted to us by Congress maintain oversight, and we will not sacrifice quality for speed,” Wilson said.
The report also noted other procurement pathways including startup collaborations, sustainment methods and agile software development.