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Air Force Digital Acquisition Strategy Papers

Jim Ciarcia

All,

   I'd like to get everyone's thoughts and insights into the Air Force Digital Engineering strategy documents that were published over the winter:

The (now former) assistant secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, Will Roper published both papers, links below:

Also someone published an 11 minute youTube video that focuses on Dr. Roper's papers that l was somewhat impressed by.. not every day you get a YouTube video for DoD publishing quite like this.  If your scared of reading, or would like a gentle intro before you dive deeper, here is the youTube link: 

https://youtu.be/dEcPlqImjWc

 

Direct link to papers:

Only 19 page paper on successful usage of DE and high level major points that get elaborated in “Bending The Spoon”

https://www.af.mil/Portals/1/documents/2020SAF/There_Is_No_Spoon_Digital_Acquisition_7_Oct_2020_digital_version.pdf

 

Only 19 pages on mid-level DE strategy:

https://www.af.mil/Portals/1/documents/2021SAF/01_Jan/Bending_the_Spoon.pdf

 

I'd also like to know where Dr. Roper ended up now that his political tenure is over in that position..

  • Former Air Force acquisition chief Will Roper joined the board of directors of Volansi, a commercial drone delivery company looking to expand its defense revenue. www.defensenews.com/.../
  • I noted the reference to the Formula 1 racing application of DE on pages 10-11.

    "Let’s use a real-life example where real lives depend on the answer: Formula 1 Racing. Highly competitive, this sport seeks every opportunity to gain even the slightest performance edge. What makes a car design fast enough to win is not simply answered. Aerodynamics, mass, engine torque, turn handling, even tire interaction with the road, all contribute as functions of speed and acceleration. Then there are driver preferences to consider, and the list goes on. You can see why teams historically do not know their true performance until their prototypes hit the track. Today, there are no prototypes in Formula 1, not physical ones anyway. Every aspect of future cars — from parts and assembly; to the complicated physics of material interactions, engine combustion, and even tire deformation; to maintenance across a grueling racing season — is meticulously modeled. These models, interconnected from upfront supplier specs to backend logistics, form one digital thread. And this digital thread is used to eCreate millions of eCars in pursuit of a winning design.

    Only one physical racecar is ever built — the final car — which hits the track only two weeks later. ”Fly before you Buy” no longer exists in Formula 1: digital acquisition made it completely obsolete. Taking the hint from Morpheus, “…speed is still based on a world that is built on rules.” Digitally recreate that world, and you can create, iterate, and eventually dominate its speed, as real-world checkered flags attest."

    Does anyone have more information on there application? Questions arise. For example, looking at a Bill of Materials or list of sub systems, is everything created in two weeks or are there long lead time items that must be addressed? Any suggestions or comments are welcome.
  • in reply to Jim Roche
    Dell/McLaren provided a presentation to USAF Dig Campaign, and we had them also provide similar brief to Missile Defense Agency DigEng group. If you want more details, recommend contacting Jordan Garrett (Dell), 770-468-7242, jordan.garrett@dell.com and Adam Painter ((McLaren), adam.painter@mclaren.com. Rolls Royce has a similar story, but working in aerospace domain. Good POC for the Rolls Royce story is John Matlik (Rolls Royce), john.f.matlik@rolls-royce.om or Keith Numbers (AFMC), keith.numbers@us.af.mil.