A new House bill would require the Department of Defense to implement rapid acquisition pathways to speed up the updates to vulnerable weapons systems, FCW reported Monday.
The legislation added to the fiscal year 2020 National Defense Authorization Act seeks to accelerate acquisition of new apps and integration into existing military systems. It covers software deals to run for one year or less and below $50 million.Â
The NDAA would assign a project manager to oversee the rapid acquisitions. It also eliminates the need to issue formal proposals, allowing DoD to seek bids from industry through discussions, statements of qualifications and past performance data.
House lawmakers expect the bill to cut the process to award contracts to 90 days. If approved in Congress, DoD has until March 2020 to establish guidance on the rapid acquisition pathways. The Senate version of the defense bill also includes a similar proposal for rapid acquisition pathway.
