ACQUISITION NEWS AND HIGHLIGHTS
An unmanned aerial vehicle sits ready for use during a Defense Innovation Unit Blue Unmanned Aircraft System Refresh Challenge at Camp Wilson, Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, Calif., Nov. 4, 2024. Source: U.S. Marine Corps photo by Marine Lance Cpl. Richard Perez-Garcia
DoD Innovation Official Discusses Progress on Replicator DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE NEWS Joseph Clark
DoD Leverages Defense Production Act to Galvanize Critical Supply Chains DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE NEWS Army Maj. Wes Shinego In the shadow of Coosa County, Ala., pine-strewn hills, and across the Nome, Alaska, rugged expanse, DoD is mount- ing a strategic response to an urgent security challenge. Beneath these two distinct landscapes lie the BamaStar Graphite Project and the Graphite Creek deposit, which anchor efforts to rebuild America’s graphite production en- terprise—an undertaking critical to our military’s lithium-ion batteries. These projects, supported by Defense Production Act funding, are part of a broader push to address vulner- abilities in the defense industrial base that leave the nation exposed to supply chain disruptions and adversarial influ- ence. (Read more)
The DoD is integrating lessons learned from executing the first iteration of its Replicator initiative as it tackles the next phase of the effort to put cutting-edge capabilities in the hands of Warfighters, said a senior Defense Innovation Unit official Dec. 12, 2024. Aditi Kumar, DIU’s deputy director, said the department is on track to meet its goal of fielding thousands of autonomous systems across multiple warf- ighting domains under Replicator 1 and has begun executing the second phase of the initiative focused on counter-drone capabilities. (Read more) Special Operations Chief Details Irregular Warfare Place in Defense Strategy DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE NEWS Jim Garamone Special operations forces have been crucial in U.S. counter- terrorism efforts, but they also have a place in what is also known as a Great Power Competition, said Chris Maier, the assistant secretary of defense for special operations and low-intensity conflict Dec. 18, 2024. (Read more)
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