BLUF: Enter the Gauntlet
Last week the Department of War announced that it had selected 25 companies to compete in the first phase of its Drone Dominance “Gauntlet.” The challenge, a first of its kind by modern procurement standards, is putting the onus on the drone industry to not only build a product capable of meeting the Pentagon’s needs but demonstrate that they have the industrial capacity and supply chains needed to sustain demand.
In a breath of fresh air for the instant gratification generation, gone are the days of the multi-year bidding process. Welcome to a new era of tournament style competitions where contracts will be decided by performance in operationally relevant conditions. The idea - at its core - is to get the most capable and relevant emerging systems into the hands of the warfighter faster. Just as importantly, it creates space for newer firms to compete in areas where legacy primes have been perceived as lacking either the incentive, will, or the agility to move quickly.
Heading into next week’s fly-off at Fort Benning, much of the early momentum appears to be with independent manufacturers rather than subsidiaries of the traditional defense giants. This alone signals a much wider shift than what’s been demonstrated by prominent “disruptors” like Anduril and Palantir who, not for nothing, have become pseudo-primes in their own rights.
While there has been no shortage of tension lately between the Pentagon and legacy defense contractors regarding their ability to deliver, it's worth remembering that only a small number of firms can design and scale the highly complex systems that define America’s most advanced military edge. That might not be the case in the future, but, as we have pointed out more times than we can count here in the BLUF, it would serve the people going into harm's way with the American flag on their sleeves well if all of these companies - big and small - remember that their success impacts so much more than just their bottom lines.
We’ll be keeping a close eye on the Gauntlet as it looks like an early indicator of whether procurement reform driven from within the halls of the Pentagon can truly push the broader defense industrial base to adapt to a wholly new standard.
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