LINCOLN, Mass. – Defense and technology experts gathered at the University of Massachusetts Lowell Applied Research Corporation’s Northstar Campus, June 2, to connect Hanscom Air Force Base acquisition professionals and industry partners with critical tools and resources.
The symposium’s theme, Accelerating the Warfighter Advantage: Speed, Scale and Synergy, is more than a catchphrase, said Dr. Bryan Tipton, chief of architecture and engineering for the Department of the Air Force Portfolio Acquisition Executive office for Command, Control, Communications and Battle Management.
“Priorities are changing. Speed is now a top priority over bureaucracy. We’re taking more risks. We’re doing iterative development and trying to go faster,” he said. “We’re empowering our workforce to be able to take more risks and make that change.”
The symposium, hosted by The Lantern: Hanscom Collaboration and Innovation Center, featured panel discussions and presentations from several organizations, including the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, AFWERX and the Defense Innovation Unit.
Christopher Lind, Lantern executive director, said a major theme across the panel discussions and presentations was that speed is no longer optional.
“Speakers repeatedly emphasized the need to deliver capability to the warfighter faster,” he said. “The discussion was less about creating new authorities and more about effectively leveraging existing tools, partnerships, and acquisition pathways to reduce timelines.”
To successfully field capabilities faster, speakers and panelists agreed there must be a foundation of trust.
“Accelerating delivery requires trust between government and industry, academia and non-traditional partners, particularly when sharing risk and private resources,” Lind said.
Part of that trust is built through information sharing.
“A big part of our role going forward is not just educating our internal contracting teams but also distilling the information down and educating external stakeholders so we can all work together to execute faster and leverage the newfound flexibilities for the entire team,” said contracting panelist and contracting division chief for the Ground-Based Air Defense Sensors Division, Kevin Kelleher.
Multiple speakers also highlighted the “valley of death” and stressed that success is measured by fielded capability, not prototypes or pilot programs.
“Transition remains the hardest part of innovation,” Lind said. “A common theme was the challenge of moving technologies from research and demonstration to operational use.”
Lind and his team hope to help address that challenge for Hanscom AFB acquisition professionals during another Lantern-sponsored event scheduled for Oct. 20.
“The concept of our October event is to partner with industry for them to showcase innovative, game changing, and flag exercise ready tech solutions that can help get after Hanscom program needs and solve Department of the Air Force challenges,” said Lind.
For more information on the Lantern or about upcoming demonstration opportunities, contact the Lantern team at lantern@us.af.mil.