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A comment on US Special Operations Command picks Anduril to lead counter-drone in $1B deal. Parent comment

Re:US Special Operations Command picks Anduril to lead count... by colechristensen on Wednesday January 26, 2022 @10:52AM (#30086962)
They have always been lots of startups and small companies in defense, but very often focusing on one very specific thing leveraged by a main contractor that interacts with the government.

For example a company of a dozen people that make just a laser sensor which is then integrated into defense products.

What would be nice is more like defense contract interaction as a service. How to navigate the defense contract acquisition and compliance environment is hard and boring and part of why defense systems actually work and why they’re so expensive.

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Re:US Special Operations Command picks Anduril to lead count... by FredPret on Wednesday January 26, 2022 @10:59AM (#30087068)
Military contracting will always be frightfully hard.

Generals have to make judgement calls about what will work in the next conflict - talk about incomplete information - while the future enemy’s preparations and even identity is unknown. Then this has to be translated into something that can slot into existing military systems.

To say nothing of political and career considerations, moving budgets, revolutionary new ideas that will come along, training and culture.

And if they get it wrong, the bad guy wins the next war.

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Re:US Special Operations Command picks Anduril to lead count... by dmoy on Wednesday January 26, 2022 @11:39AM (#30087729)
Yes exactly. There's entire classes of contracts reserved exclusively for small companies and startups even. Many exist only because of the constant pipeline of SBIR/STTR money.
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Re:US Special Operations Command picks Anduril to lead count... by ren_engineer on Wednesday January 26, 2022 @11:34AM (#30087666)
>What would be nice is more like defense contract interaction as a service

it's called bribing politicians and generals

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