Gen. Stephen Wilson: Air Force Launches Efforts to Speed Up Procurement Process

Gen. Stephen ‘Seve’ Wilson, Air Force vice chief of staff, told National Defense in an interview published Monday that the service has initiated efforts to accelerate the acquisition process in order to expedite the delivery of capabilities to warfighters.

He noted that Will Roper, assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition, technology and logistics, came up with an idea to have the service sign 50 contracts in 50 hours in a move to speed up the procurement process.

“We actually did 104 contracts in 40 hours [during a contracting sprint with small businesses in November],” he said.

“So being able to use your government credit card and say, ‘Bring in an idea,’ and say, ‘That’s good, let’s be able to fund that.’”

The Air Force plans to hold in March a pitch day for non-traditional partners and Wilson said the service has earmarked approximately $40M in funds for projects that will be selected at the event.

He discussed the role of the rapid capabilities office in the B-21 bomber program and the potential impact of the planned cut to the fiscal 2020 defense budget on the Air Force’s readiness and modernization efforts.