House Bill Aims to Bridge Acquisition ‘Valley of Death’ In Race to Counter China

Two provisions in the latest version of a House defense bill seek to bridge the "valley of death," the acquisition-process obstacles that can stop promising technology from getting to troops in the field. One would establish a five-year pilot program to more quickly identify such technologies, and the other would expand Navy programs that foster small-business innovation.

The provisions appear in a draft of the National Defense Authorization Act as marked up by the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee. A copy of the draft was obtained by Defense One.

The bill tasks the Strategic Capabilities Office, or SCO, with identifying “critical cross-service operational needs” of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, the combatant command that deals most directly with China. SCO will then designate a mission manager to work with the military’s various research arms and agencies to “develop and deliver solutions, including software and information technology solutions,” as well as to test and evaluate those solutions .

Read the full story and more from Defense One.