WEBVTT 00:03.000 --> 00:04.313 - Okay, can y'all hear me? 00:06.279 --> 00:07.180 Can y'all hear me now? 00:07.180 --> 00:08.463 Is that better? 00:09.100 --> 00:11.320 All right, good afternoon, welcome everybody. 00:11.320 --> 00:13.320 I'm Ralph Garcia, Director of Propulsion 00:14.030 --> 00:14.997 for LCMC in the Air Force, 00:14.997 --> 00:17.123 that's down at Tinker Air Force Base, 00:17.540 --> 00:18.950 and it's my pleasure to moderate 00:18.950 --> 00:21.200 this panel today on innovation on propulsion. 00:21.960 --> 00:23.860 Part of the reason we're doing this is 00:24.030 --> 00:25.980 we in propulsion in the last year and a half 00:25.980 --> 00:27.770 to two years have really embarked on 00:27.770 --> 00:29.340 how do we bring in innovation, 00:29.340 --> 00:32.730 agility, flexibility, into our propulsion enterprise? 00:32.730 --> 00:34.493 How do we work smarter and faster? 00:34.890 --> 00:37.190 And it really started even longer before that. 00:37.210 --> 00:38.650 I'll give you a couple of quick examples 00:38.650 --> 00:40.880 of the journey we've sort of been on, 00:40.880 --> 00:43.040 and how we're looking for great ideas 00:43.040 --> 00:44.940 and interesting concepts that 00:45.182 --> 00:47.383 our panel members can bring to us. 00:47.700 --> 00:50.850 But, you know, about three to four years ago 00:50.850 --> 00:52.580 we started planning this thing called 00:52.580 --> 00:55.253 the Adaptive Engine Transition Program. 00:55.950 --> 00:57.650 AETP for those who read the press. 00:59.660 --> 01:01.563 As my team likes to tell me now, 01:01.656 --> 01:03.980 we were doing large-scale prototyping 01:03.980 --> 01:06.023 before large-scale prototyping was cool. 01:07.680 --> 01:09.130 Those authorities that we talk, 01:09.130 --> 01:10.260 that people talk about today, 01:10.260 --> 01:11.740 and you may have heard this morning, 01:11.740 --> 01:13.730 for those that sat in the morning session 01:13.730 --> 01:15.960 with Dr. Roper, section 804, 01:15.960 --> 01:18.020 we were doing those things because we could do them 01:18.020 --> 01:20.253 already under DoD 5000, right. 01:20.550 --> 01:23.590 So we've got a multi-billion dollar program 01:23.590 --> 01:26.600 that's prototyping the next generation 01:26.600 --> 01:29.143 of fighter engines for the Air Force, 01:29.360 --> 01:31.773 and it's tailored, it's stream-lined, 01:31.870 --> 01:33.033 it's moving fast. 01:33.630 --> 01:35.480 We started that about four years ago. 01:35.930 --> 01:37.900 About a year ago, my team here at the 01:37.900 --> 01:39.330 Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, 01:39.330 --> 01:40.930 led by Ms. Dollum here, in the audience, 01:40.930 --> 01:42.130 raise your hand up, Val, 01:42.830 --> 01:44.830 don't ask me questions, get to her afterwards 01:44.830 --> 01:45.930 and it'll all be good. 01:46.890 --> 01:48.303 They issued the first OTA, 01:48.630 --> 01:50.580 Other Transaction Authority vehicle, 01:50.580 --> 01:52.203 in LCMC, for propulsion. 01:52.810 --> 01:55.333 It's a broad vehicle that allows us to, 01:55.740 --> 01:57.320 anything that's propulsion-related, 01:57.320 --> 02:00.653 we can put on this OTA and do quick prototyping efforts. 02:00.900 --> 02:02.210 We've had a lot of success. 02:02.210 --> 02:05.290 In one year we've got about eight current projects 02:05.290 --> 02:07.490 and about another eight to ten in the hopper 02:07.810 --> 02:10.483 that'll be coming on board in the start of the FY 19. 02:10.900 --> 02:14.350 Things such as sustainment efforts that we're doing 02:14.350 --> 02:16.383 to support some of the legacy programs, 02:16.470 --> 02:17.840 things that we're working with the labs 02:17.840 --> 02:19.780 to improve manufacturing and quality 02:19.780 --> 02:21.500 and producibility of our components 02:21.500 --> 02:23.623 to reduce lifecycle costs, 02:23.980 --> 02:25.880 and the one we're really looking to do 02:26.430 --> 02:28.020 at the start of the FY is what we call 02:28.020 --> 02:29.420 our Small Engine Initiative. 02:29.880 --> 02:33.313 And it's a real easy concept from a prototyping perspective. 02:33.690 --> 02:37.538 Reduce costs 50% and improve interoperability 02:37.538 --> 02:39.563 across multiple systems. 02:40.210 --> 02:41.370 The team's worked hard on that 02:41.370 --> 02:42.890 and we're ready to move that out, 02:42.890 --> 02:44.743 hopefully in the fall of this year, 02:45.030 --> 02:45.863 on that OTA. 02:46.390 --> 02:48.870 We've taken those steps in terms of innovation, 02:48.870 --> 02:51.360 but we know when you're looking in the mirror 02:51.360 --> 02:53.650 it's hard to figure out other ideas, 02:53.650 --> 02:56.240 so we wanted to have a different panel this year 02:56.240 --> 02:58.520 that would actually bring ideas from industry 02:58.840 --> 03:00.380 and some of the partners here that 03:00.380 --> 03:02.440 there are other things we could be doing 03:02.440 --> 03:03.800 from an innovation perspective. 03:03.800 --> 03:06.200 Let's tap that well of ideas that are out there. 03:06.840 --> 03:09.350 It is my pleasure to be able to be here today 03:09.350 --> 03:11.960 and introduce and lead this panel 03:11.960 --> 03:15.313 of this august group of industry partners here, 03:15.530 --> 03:17.523 starting with Lieutenant, 03:17.740 --> 03:19.793 retired Lieutenant General C.D. Moore. 03:20.920 --> 03:22.780 Since his retirement from active duty 03:23.200 --> 03:25.293 in the end of 2014, 03:26.770 --> 03:28.210 I still have a hard time just saying C.D., 03:28.210 --> 03:29.510 you know that, right, sir? 03:29.567 --> 03:30.810 (laughs) 03:30.810 --> 03:32.860 C.D. has served in a senior consultant 03:32.860 --> 03:34.770 with Dayton Aerospace and as a board member 03:34.770 --> 03:37.593 for a variety of corporate and nonprofit organizations. 03:37.990 --> 03:39.610 He provides senior-level support 03:39.610 --> 03:41.820 to government and aerospace industry clients 03:42.240 --> 03:45.040 with strategic planning, organizational change management, 03:45.040 --> 03:47.940 process improvement, program execution, 03:47.940 --> 03:49.593 and business growth advice. 03:50.980 --> 03:53.393 Next to him we have Mr. Dave Stagney, 03:53.950 --> 03:55.100 from Pratt and Whitney. 03:55.250 --> 03:57.600 Dave is the Senior Director of Multiple Programs 03:57.600 --> 03:59.210 for Pratt and Whitney GATORWORKS. 03:59.210 --> 04:01.070 He has over 17 years of engineering 04:01.070 --> 04:02.370 and operations experience in the 04:02.370 --> 04:04.283 aerospace and financial services. 04:04.750 --> 04:07.110 As Senior Director, Dave leads all aspects 04:07.110 --> 04:09.650 of the business and the business processes 04:09.650 --> 04:12.083 that will enable all of customer commitments. 04:12.948 --> 04:14.900 Hopefully Dave will expand a little bit 04:14.900 --> 04:17.370 on what GATORWORKS is, 'cause that is another 04:17.370 --> 04:19.890 great, innovative idea from industry 04:19.890 --> 04:21.540 and what you all are doing there. 04:21.900 --> 04:24.450 And next to Dave, we've got another Dave, 04:24.450 --> 04:25.823 Mr. Dave Angeletti. 04:26.330 --> 04:27.480 I talked about our OTA. 04:27.860 --> 04:31.283 Our consortium manager for the OTA is SOSSEC, 04:31.770 --> 04:34.583 and Dave is the Senior Program Manager for SOSSEC, 04:34.890 --> 04:36.523 a consortium management firm. 04:36.950 --> 04:38.740 He has 30 years of experience working 04:38.740 --> 04:40.290 on the industry side of the table 04:40.290 --> 04:43.340 with various sized companies including nonprofits, 04:43.340 --> 04:46.060 and offers a contractor's insight of the 04:46.060 --> 04:47.910 Other Transaction Authority environment 04:47.910 --> 04:50.010 from both the project performance 04:50.290 --> 04:52.793 and the consortium management perspectives. 04:54.000 --> 04:55.513 And next to Joe, we actually, 04:55.696 --> 04:57.883 thank you, Bill, right? 04:57.935 --> 05:01.903 So Bill's from Boeing, he's not Mr. Keith Coleman. 05:02.920 --> 05:04.910 William Stieglitz has come in, 05:04.910 --> 05:06.470 and thank you for the last-minute 05:06.470 --> 05:08.320 substitution here, and pinch-hitting. 05:08.810 --> 05:10.483 I'll let you talk about yourself, 05:10.860 --> 05:11.790 if you'd like, 'cause I don't have 05:11.790 --> 05:13.417 anything on you, unfortunately. 05:13.417 --> 05:14.250 - Alright. 05:14.660 --> 05:16.900 I'm Will Stieglitz, Boeing, St. Louis, 05:16.900 --> 05:18.023 actually St. Charles. 05:18.230 --> 05:21.713 Got 30 years of experience at Boeing. 05:22.490 --> 05:23.323 How's that? 05:23.323 --> 05:24.910 30 years of experience at Boeing. 05:25.160 --> 05:28.803 Responsible for propulsion system integration, 05:29.140 --> 05:30.960 expendable propulsion system integration. 05:30.960 --> 05:33.310 I work out in St. Charles in the weapons group, 05:33.410 --> 05:36.820 and I'm responsible for, certainly turbine integration 05:36.820 --> 05:39.540 but also rocket motors, ramjets, scramjets, 05:39.540 --> 05:41.903 any propulsion system that you can think of, 05:41.926 --> 05:43.113 we've looked at it. 05:44.380 --> 05:45.270 Thanks for having me. 05:45.270 --> 05:46.770 But I am not Keith Coleman. 05:46.917 --> 05:48.117 I'm the next best thing. 05:49.770 --> 05:51.320 - Thank you, I appreciate that. 05:52.730 --> 05:55.303 Next to him we have Mr. Joe Kovasity. 05:55.890 --> 05:57.200 Joe is the Vice President for 05:57.200 --> 05:59.053 Technical Directions Incorporation. 05:59.410 --> 06:01.860 He has over 29 years of experience working 06:01.860 --> 06:05.063 in all aspects of small gas, turbine, and diesel engines. 06:05.450 --> 06:08.140 This includes analysis, design, test facilities, 06:08.140 --> 06:11.300 and the application of computer-aided design systems. 06:11.300 --> 06:12.807 I'm looking forward to hearing some of the things 06:12.807 --> 06:14.620 that you're doing on that end, too, Joe. 06:14.620 --> 06:15.453 So thank you. 06:15.895 --> 06:17.960 With that, team, panel members, 06:17.960 --> 06:20.243 I'd like to start with the first question. 06:20.393 --> 06:23.053 This one will go across to all the panel members. 06:24.260 --> 06:26.520 First question is what innovative processes 06:26.520 --> 06:29.500 does your company utilize that can be implemented 06:29.500 --> 06:31.050 in the United States Air Force? 06:32.440 --> 06:34.050 Since it's all panel members, we can start 06:34.050 --> 06:35.853 with you, and work down. 06:36.610 --> 06:38.323 - Okay, I will lead off. 06:38.740 --> 06:40.540 First of all, Ralph, thank you 06:40.540 --> 06:42.253 for the invite to be here today. 06:43.010 --> 06:45.140 He had mentioned that I have 06:45.140 --> 06:46.800 kind of an eclectic background right now. 06:46.800 --> 06:51.570 I do support several small companies in advanced technology. 06:51.570 --> 06:54.340 One of those deals with agile software development, 06:54.340 --> 06:56.640 another one deals with additive manufacturing, 06:56.780 --> 06:59.050 and the third one deals with predictive analytics, 06:59.050 --> 07:00.200 advanced predictive analytics. 07:00.200 --> 07:02.360 And that's kinda where my focus is gonna be today, 07:02.360 --> 07:05.170 'cause I think it has greatest direct application 07:05.170 --> 07:07.003 to this question of innovation. 07:07.390 --> 07:08.783 When I thought about it, 07:09.920 --> 07:13.090 I believe that the innovation comes in a package deal. 07:13.090 --> 07:17.521 It's a combination of advanced computational capabilities, 07:17.521 --> 07:21.040 combined with cloud-based enabling technologies, 07:21.040 --> 07:24.673 rapid data collection, and compilation and cleansing, 07:25.270 --> 07:29.007 combined with very accurate digital twin emulation, 07:30.390 --> 07:32.723 and on top of that advanced analytical tools. 07:32.730 --> 07:35.010 It's the combination of those things 07:35.200 --> 07:37.063 that really does move the needle. 07:37.190 --> 07:38.270 And when I say move the needle, 07:38.270 --> 07:40.890 what I've seen, both in the government 07:40.890 --> 07:42.683 as well as the commercial side, 07:43.180 --> 07:46.570 moving from a 80% forecasting accuracy 07:46.570 --> 07:48.070 on a system performance, 07:48.070 --> 07:50.260 understanding when a system's gonna fail 07:50.490 --> 07:52.300 and what type of components you need to have 07:52.300 --> 07:56.020 on the shelf to sustain that system, to a 90-95%. 07:56.020 --> 07:58.370 That is significant when you see 07:58.370 --> 08:00.300 the application of those combinations 08:00.300 --> 08:03.023 of innovative technologies and done correctly. 08:03.180 --> 08:05.280 That's been my exposure and experience 08:05.280 --> 08:08.575 over the last four years working in this space, 08:08.575 --> 08:11.230 and so if there was one area that I would be 08:11.230 --> 08:14.230 emphasizing in this particular line of questioning 08:14.230 --> 08:15.760 it would be that area. 08:15.760 --> 08:17.280 In fact, when I heard Comack stand 08:17.280 --> 08:18.802 on stage this morning and talk about 08:18.802 --> 08:22.300 how are we going to enhance readiness, 08:22.300 --> 08:23.133 and I don't think he's looking 08:23.133 --> 08:24.580 for incremental readiness improvements, 08:24.580 --> 08:26.300 this is big readiness improvements, 08:26.300 --> 08:28.330 and it's gonna come with much greater 08:28.330 --> 08:30.510 system availability and dramatically 08:30.510 --> 08:32.517 reducing the cost of sustaining that system. 08:32.517 --> 08:35.620 And I'll go right back to the points I made 08:35.620 --> 08:37.743 on advanced predictive analytics. 08:38.230 --> 08:40.890 I'm a zealot, in this area, I think that we are 08:40.890 --> 08:43.853 at the cusp of a digital revolution in this area, 08:44.110 --> 08:46.340 and those who are actually leading 08:46.340 --> 08:48.540 in the area of combining those capabilities, 08:48.570 --> 08:49.890 I think, are the ones who are going 08:49.890 --> 08:51.000 to actually help us achieve 08:51.000 --> 08:53.273 the greatest advances in readiness. 08:53.360 --> 08:54.653 I'll pause there, thanks. 08:54.750 --> 08:55.900 - Alright, thanks, sir. 08:57.860 --> 08:58.693 Dave? 09:02.140 --> 09:05.213 - Thanks for inviting me to be here, Mr. Garcia. 09:05.270 --> 09:07.170 I'm really pleased to represent, just, 09:07.200 --> 09:09.020 not only Pratt and Whitney but also 09:09.240 --> 09:10.943 our GATORWORKS organization. 09:12.030 --> 09:14.700 I also feel that this is really a unique time. 09:14.700 --> 09:16.190 We're kind of at the right place 09:16.190 --> 09:17.343 at the right time. 09:17.600 --> 09:21.290 With digital technology, with our customers 09:21.290 --> 09:24.623 really asking us to be more agile and more innovative, 09:24.920 --> 09:29.240 and our employees asking us to be more innovative and agile. 09:29.240 --> 09:31.140 They're looking at what is being done 09:31.330 --> 09:33.680 in other companies and they want to do the same thing. 09:33.680 --> 09:36.200 They want to be freed up to be able to innovate 09:36.200 --> 09:38.390 and create new things, and see their ideas 09:38.390 --> 09:40.793 actually come to fruition much more quickly. 09:41.340 --> 09:44.433 Three processes that we're working on at Pratt and Whitney. 09:45.350 --> 09:48.723 The first is what we call our digital accelerator. 09:49.340 --> 09:52.833 This is a team that's been put off-site, 09:53.910 --> 09:55.300 actually it's in Brooklyn, New York, 09:55.300 --> 09:58.890 where we can hire people who have the right sort of skills 09:59.300 --> 10:00.950 and then put them in an environment 10:00.950 --> 10:03.903 where they can work using agile methodology. 10:04.540 --> 10:06.870 One of the demonstration projects 10:06.870 --> 10:08.280 that we were just talking about 10:08.280 --> 10:09.853 before the panel here today, 10:10.800 --> 10:14.270 one of our executives wanted to be able to provide to, 10:14.270 --> 10:17.490 not only our company but to our customers, 10:17.490 --> 10:20.403 was a complete view of their fleet of engines. 10:20.880 --> 10:24.640 So this team, in 90 days, was able to take existing data 10:24.750 --> 10:27.233 that they could pull out of existing systems, 10:27.350 --> 10:30.340 and create a prototype, literally an app on a phone, 10:30.340 --> 10:33.840 where any one of our leaders or our customers 10:33.840 --> 10:36.010 can actually get a real-time view 10:36.240 --> 10:38.283 of the entire fleet of engines. 10:38.680 --> 10:40.820 That was just an example in 90 days 10:40.820 --> 10:43.210 of the power of having this team off-site 10:43.370 --> 10:46.420 that's dedicated and accessible to our leaders 10:46.420 --> 10:49.623 to go and test out brand new ideas very, very rapidly. 10:50.610 --> 10:52.990 Similarly, with the GATORWORKS initiative 10:52.990 --> 10:54.713 that we launched about a year ago, 10:54.880 --> 10:57.890 we're applying agile software techniques, 10:57.890 --> 11:00.003 but we're applying them to hardware. 11:00.850 --> 11:03.330 We're literally kicking off projects where 11:03.330 --> 11:08.260 we're giving the team only a very small set of requirements 11:08.260 --> 11:10.943 and letting them innovate very, very rapidly. 11:11.640 --> 11:13.920 We're working towards the minimum viable product 11:13.920 --> 11:15.640 and asking them how quickly can they get 11:15.640 --> 11:18.280 the minimum viable product into test 11:19.110 --> 11:22.653 and then purposely plan to iterate from there. 11:22.900 --> 11:24.360 And that's freed the team up 11:24.360 --> 11:26.290 to do some very, very innovative things. 11:26.290 --> 11:27.780 We've kind of put them off-site 11:27.780 --> 11:30.723 and given them, just again, a very small set of rules, 11:30.940 --> 11:33.583 and allowed them to be very, very agile. 11:34.580 --> 11:36.640 I think the third kind of innovative process 11:36.640 --> 11:39.130 we've launched recently is what we call our BACE, 11:39.130 --> 11:42.053 or our Business Acquisition Center of Excellence. 11:42.360 --> 11:45.010 And that's in response to our customers 11:45.010 --> 11:47.920 saying that we're often, it takes us too long 11:47.920 --> 11:50.977 to get a proposal out and it's too complicated (laughs). 11:51.250 --> 11:53.610 And internally it's too expensive 11:53.610 --> 11:55.833 and too frustrating for the team. 11:56.384 --> 12:01.200 So we've created a team that is dedicated 12:01.460 --> 12:05.733 to implementing a brand new streamlined proposal process. 12:05.870 --> 12:08.720 We've hired over 50 professionals 12:08.720 --> 12:10.913 that are gonna be dedicated to that team, 12:11.440 --> 12:13.940 and given them some very, very innovative tools 12:13.940 --> 12:15.840 to allow them to significantly improve 12:15.870 --> 12:17.500 the quality of our proposals and 12:17.500 --> 12:19.300 the responsiveness to our customers. 12:19.430 --> 12:20.263 - Great. 12:20.263 --> 12:21.096 Thank you. 12:24.200 --> 12:27.313 - At SOSSEC, as a consortium management firm, 12:27.500 --> 12:29.053 we don't make things. 12:29.620 --> 12:32.583 We work as a go-between between these guys, 12:33.260 --> 12:34.793 and his guys, your guys. 12:36.070 --> 12:39.253 So you might wonder where the innovation comes in there. 12:39.540 --> 12:41.740 It's maybe a little bit of a stretch, 12:41.740 --> 12:44.393 but going back to our beginnings, about 10 years ago, 12:44.630 --> 12:46.090 I was working for a founding member 12:46.090 --> 12:48.173 of the SOSSEC Consortium at the time. 12:48.490 --> 12:51.730 The whole idea was that SOSSEC stood for 12:51.730 --> 12:54.113 System of Systems Consortium. 12:54.570 --> 12:56.970 So there was a realization at a very early point 12:57.220 --> 12:59.720 that you need to be thinking about 12:59.861 --> 13:01.550 not only the innovation that occurs 13:01.550 --> 13:03.330 at the RDT&E level for new requirements 13:03.330 --> 13:04.950 but also the integration side of it. 13:04.950 --> 13:06.700 Where does the metal meet the road here? 13:06.700 --> 13:11.280 Where do we actualize these new solutions, 13:11.280 --> 13:12.530 and how do we field them? 13:12.780 --> 13:14.840 That kind of a mindset is applied to 13:15.930 --> 13:17.920 each of the projects in their own ways. 13:17.920 --> 13:20.040 And it's all based on the mission that we get 13:20.040 --> 13:22.193 from an OTA that becomes awarded. 13:23.460 --> 13:25.930 Beyond that, though, there's some true innovation 13:25.930 --> 13:28.963 on the procurement or acquisition side, as well. 13:29.350 --> 13:31.350 It's not nearly as cool as creating 13:31.350 --> 13:33.490 some of the stuff that comes out of the shops 13:33.490 --> 13:34.870 these guys all represent, 13:34.870 --> 13:38.230 but what it does do is opens up people's eyes 13:38.230 --> 13:40.183 as to how quickly this train can run. 13:41.060 --> 13:43.530 Right now, I think, as Mr. Garcia said, 13:43.530 --> 13:46.133 we have eight projects in action. 13:47.706 --> 13:50.610 I think we are averaging right around 60 days 13:50.610 --> 13:53.320 from the time we release a white paper request 13:53.320 --> 13:54.730 to the time we award a project. 13:54.730 --> 13:55.913 That's six zero days. 13:56.070 --> 13:57.020 Give or take a few. 13:57.100 --> 13:57.933 Am I close to that? 13:57.933 --> 13:58.766 Yeah. 13:59.200 --> 14:02.133 Until Friday, when it'll be a lot less. 14:02.482 --> 14:03.853 About a third of that. 14:04.480 --> 14:05.540 Almost half, but. 14:06.250 --> 14:09.450 So we're really baking this stuff in quickly, 14:09.450 --> 14:11.140 and what's kind of unique in this 14:11.140 --> 14:14.090 is that we're able to work with companies 14:14.390 --> 14:15.693 like Pratt and Whitney, 14:16.510 --> 14:18.870 who recognize the need to be able to have 14:18.870 --> 14:20.210 that responsiveness built in. 14:20.210 --> 14:21.490 Because when you're talking about 14:21.490 --> 14:23.050 doing a white paper in X amount of days 14:23.050 --> 14:25.060 and then a proposal within X amount of days, 14:25.060 --> 14:26.140 they're looking at you like, 14:26.140 --> 14:27.250 I need that many days just to get 14:27.250 --> 14:29.423 the okay to have a proposal written, right? 14:30.040 --> 14:31.040 That's no longer the case, 14:31.040 --> 14:32.530 and these guys are finally realizing, 14:32.530 --> 14:34.730 hey, we have to look at this a little differently. 14:34.730 --> 14:36.973 OTAs are certainly not the end-all be-all. 14:37.080 --> 14:38.860 They certainly are a wicked tool to have 14:38.860 --> 14:41.113 for research and development and prototypes. 14:41.223 --> 14:43.190 But they're not the only thing in there, 14:43.190 --> 14:46.140 so you can't have that one size fits all kind of mentality. 14:46.210 --> 14:49.010 But you can at least think outside the box a little bit. 14:49.190 --> 14:51.260 And so we're working with other groups, 14:51.260 --> 14:52.910 in addition to Pratt and Whitney, 14:53.801 --> 14:55.450 to help them develop a tiger team 14:55.450 --> 14:57.300 within their company so that they recognize, 14:57.300 --> 15:00.690 look, if you can't submit within X amount of days, 15:00.690 --> 15:02.280 then you really can't play in this game. 15:02.280 --> 15:04.670 Let us help you work through these wickets. 15:04.670 --> 15:06.390 And what we find out, in working with 15:06.390 --> 15:08.620 each one of our government customers, 15:08.620 --> 15:11.260 especially propulsion, and by the way, 15:11.260 --> 15:13.300 for the record, typically on average 15:13.300 --> 15:16.110 you'll see a project come out and be announced 15:16.190 --> 15:18.270 under a new OTA award within the first 15:18.270 --> 15:20.223 six to eight months of that award. 15:21.110 --> 15:22.510 What do we have, eight days? 15:23.030 --> 15:23.983 To our first one? 15:24.290 --> 15:27.993 And a year in we had eight that were actual, 15:28.233 --> 15:30.730 actually running, and another six that 15:30.730 --> 15:31.680 were in the hopper. 15:31.680 --> 15:33.470 That's a pretty good track record, 15:33.470 --> 15:34.630 and it shows you what can happen 15:34.630 --> 15:36.730 when you've got not only a motivated team 15:36.730 --> 15:38.970 pushing it but also motivated membership 15:38.970 --> 15:40.613 who are responding. 15:40.980 --> 15:42.290 And that's the message that really needs 15:42.290 --> 15:43.910 to get down to the industry level, too, 15:43.910 --> 15:47.370 is there's a forethought that maybe some of this stuff 15:47.370 --> 15:48.810 is just really direct goods stuff 15:48.810 --> 15:51.720 kind of disguised under this OTA magic carpet ride, 15:51.720 --> 15:53.220 and it's not happening that way at all. 15:53.220 --> 15:55.655 We've got no shortage of companies who 15:55.655 --> 15:57.560 are traditionally winning some of this work 15:57.560 --> 15:58.393 who are going what happened? 15:58.393 --> 15:59.450 How did I not get that? 15:59.650 --> 16:02.100 And they're looking at some five-man garage band 16:02.100 --> 16:05.003 out of a backwater town going, 16:05.597 --> 16:06.430 "We won." 16:06.860 --> 16:08.850 So it happens, and that's the reality. 16:08.850 --> 16:10.980 And I think that's the new set of eyes 16:10.980 --> 16:13.570 you really need to cast on the procurement side 16:13.570 --> 16:15.370 of what we're talking about. 16:15.370 --> 16:16.480 - So what I got out of that, 16:16.480 --> 16:18.273 we're your favorite customer, right? 16:18.361 --> 16:19.194 (laughs) I'm just kidding. 16:19.194 --> 16:21.960 - You're my favorite customer. (laughs) 16:21.960 --> 16:24.060 I had a full head of hair before we started this thing. 16:24.060 --> 16:26.423 - Oh, thanks. (laughs) 16:29.730 --> 16:31.682 - At Boeing we're focusing on 16:31.682 --> 16:36.130 several processes that we consider innovative. 16:36.130 --> 16:38.600 We've, of course, always been an innovative company, 16:38.600 --> 16:39.470 but some of the things that we've 16:39.470 --> 16:41.043 been focusing more on lately, 16:41.310 --> 16:42.990 not to dwell on buzzwords or anything, 16:42.990 --> 16:45.170 but 3D printing is an area that 16:45.170 --> 16:47.120 we're really starting to focus more on, 16:47.690 --> 16:49.640 especially in the area of propulsion 16:49.640 --> 16:52.803 as far as growing inlets and exhaust systems, 16:53.010 --> 16:54.983 and engine components, perhaps, even. 16:55.210 --> 16:57.360 And rocket motor cases. 16:57.360 --> 16:59.040 I know you guys are turbine people, 16:59.040 --> 17:01.380 but those are things that we're looking at, 17:01.380 --> 17:04.610 and we've formed a relationship 17:04.610 --> 17:06.660 with several external companies 17:06.660 --> 17:09.490 that are experts in 3D manufacturing. 17:09.490 --> 17:14.293 We've stood up our own internal capabilities in that area, 17:14.660 --> 17:18.993 and it just allows us to really broaden our designs, 17:19.480 --> 17:22.730 incorporating cooling schemes or even 17:22.730 --> 17:25.893 electrical components into the 3D manufacturing. 17:26.880 --> 17:31.633 Starting to look at multi-metal printing of parts, 17:32.480 --> 17:34.693 which would be a really innovative concept. 17:35.379 --> 17:36.430 There's that. 17:36.430 --> 17:38.310 As far as modeling and simulation, 17:38.310 --> 17:41.040 we've started to implement what we call 17:41.040 --> 17:43.393 an integrated design environment, 17:43.710 --> 17:45.210 and it's just a way of bringing in 17:45.210 --> 17:46.960 all the components that go into a 17:47.852 --> 17:51.143 missile or weapon performance simulation. 17:52.140 --> 17:54.210 You got your aerodynamics database, 17:54.210 --> 17:57.323 your propulsion, your seeker, your warhead, 17:57.890 --> 17:59.390 and all your ops analysis, 17:59.390 --> 18:01.290 and this tool just is a way of 18:01.290 --> 18:03.533 bringing it all together in one simulation. 18:03.680 --> 18:04.513 It's really been 18:06.520 --> 18:09.170 looked upon favorably by customers that have seen it, 18:09.988 --> 18:12.388 and we're starting to implement it in all of our 18:12.920 --> 18:15.593 future programs and program simulations. 18:16.420 --> 18:18.750 Model-based design is another area 18:18.750 --> 18:20.820 where we're taking all of our designs. 18:20.820 --> 18:23.413 They're all electronic designs, of course, 18:23.670 --> 18:28.670 and improving them so that the parts that are generated are, 18:28.800 --> 18:30.090 they go together the first time, 18:30.090 --> 18:32.463 and we're really reducing tolerances, 18:32.560 --> 18:36.403 or reducing variation and improving tolerances. 18:37.030 --> 18:39.403 Those are some of the areas that we're working on. 18:44.898 --> 18:47.150 - Technical Directions, Incorporated, 18:47.150 --> 18:49.790 is a very small company, and we do things 18:49.790 --> 18:51.560 a little different than everybody else. 18:51.560 --> 18:53.110 We try and actually minimize all of our 18:53.110 --> 18:55.743 modeling and simulation wherever we can, 18:55.970 --> 18:59.033 and we just get started as quickly as we can into hardware. 18:59.470 --> 19:03.040 We usually figure, 80% of the job's getting started, 19:03.040 --> 19:05.380 getting hardware moving, and we can actually solve 19:05.380 --> 19:06.913 a lot of our problems quicker, 19:07.550 --> 19:11.623 empirically, so we may build 40 different combusters, 19:11.820 --> 19:13.920 design up a really good design of experiments, 19:13.920 --> 19:16.070 and we'll just blow through, get test data, 19:16.110 --> 19:18.310 and start iterating and refining from there. 19:18.690 --> 19:20.713 So we've found as a very small company, 19:20.844 --> 19:21.677 you know, we do have to do things 19:21.677 --> 19:23.480 a little bit different to stay ahead, 19:23.640 --> 19:25.150 and we don't always have a lot of money 19:25.150 --> 19:28.000 to do all the simulation and modeling 19:28.000 --> 19:29.730 that's typical with a lot of others. 19:29.730 --> 19:32.470 We do it where we need to, but we try and get moving 19:32.470 --> 19:35.623 right away and hit the road, hit the ground running. 19:36.350 --> 19:38.030 Our internal goal is to go from 19:38.030 --> 19:39.890 clean sheet of paper to full-speed, 19:39.890 --> 19:42.723 full-thrust on a new engine design within 12 months, 19:43.120 --> 19:45.630 and we're getting pretty good at doing that sort of thing. 19:45.630 --> 19:48.313 We start with rules of thumb that we know that work, 19:48.600 --> 19:50.665 we hit the analysis where we absolutely have to, 19:50.665 --> 19:53.980 and everything else we try and get hardware moving, 19:53.980 --> 19:57.863 get test experience under our belt, and iterate from there. 19:58.810 --> 20:00.850 Everything we do is focused on low cost, 20:00.850 --> 20:02.513 that's our niche in the industry. 20:02.950 --> 20:05.500 We're not as sophisticated as the bigger companies, 20:05.520 --> 20:07.410 but we're good at what we do in our niche, 20:07.410 --> 20:10.113 which is low-thrust and ultra-low cost, 20:10.330 --> 20:13.497 and so we stay within those limits and attack that. 20:13.497 --> 20:15.290 And we've kinda picked up a little bit, 20:15.290 --> 20:16.340 not that I like the Russians, 20:16.340 --> 20:18.440 but the Russian model of we put the money 20:18.440 --> 20:20.093 where you need it on the engines, 20:20.270 --> 20:23.300 and the other places you can go with a rough surface finish. 20:23.300 --> 20:26.039 It doesn't have to be pretty, it's gotta be functional. 20:26.039 --> 20:30.423 So that's our ultra-low cost and agile approach. 20:34.290 --> 20:35.123 - Great. 20:35.123 --> 20:35.956 Thank you all. 20:36.134 --> 20:36.970 That's pretty interesting concepts. 20:36.970 --> 20:39.520 You guys touch on a broad base of different things, 20:39.800 --> 20:40.920 and I'm sure we'll get a chance 20:40.920 --> 20:42.820 to get back to those as we go further. 20:43.060 --> 20:44.170 What I'd like to do is move on 20:44.170 --> 20:45.883 to question number two right now. 20:46.950 --> 20:49.100 Question two's kinda long, so bear with me. 20:50.430 --> 20:53.393 With current technology progressing at a rapid pace, 20:53.930 --> 20:55.980 what actions are you taking in order to mitigate 20:55.980 --> 20:58.123 potential future integration issues? 20:58.480 --> 21:02.193 I.e., designing feasibility to integrate with future tech. 21:04.003 --> 21:07.750 - I'll take a shot at kind of throwing an umbrella 21:07.750 --> 21:09.540 over this, because I think you need to 21:09.540 --> 21:12.060 look at it from the standpoint first of 21:12.060 --> 21:13.810 how are you asking for that requirement 21:13.810 --> 21:15.260 to be met in the first place? 21:15.670 --> 21:18.580 I think the OTA gives us kind of a 21:20.290 --> 21:22.380 leg up on some of the other vehicles out there 21:22.380 --> 21:24.430 because we've got the ability to conduct 21:24.430 --> 21:26.230 bi-directional communication between 21:26.510 --> 21:28.460 the industry side and the government side 21:28.460 --> 21:30.100 the whole way through the process. 21:30.100 --> 21:32.320 That allows us to bring a certain level 21:32.320 --> 21:34.323 of fidelity to the requirements, right? 21:34.490 --> 21:36.731 It starts off, for us at least, 21:36.731 --> 21:40.820 with kind of a new form that we've 21:40.820 --> 21:42.580 adopted in the past two months, 21:42.580 --> 21:44.720 and that is to pre-announce opportunities 21:44.720 --> 21:45.553 as they're coming up. 21:45.553 --> 21:47.080 The minute we get wind that things 21:47.080 --> 21:48.760 are gonna get locked in and it's really gonna happen, 21:48.760 --> 21:50.560 we'll get word out to our membership 21:50.650 --> 21:52.750 that this kind of requirement is happening. 21:52.750 --> 21:54.010 In other words, start your engines, 21:54.010 --> 21:55.993 get your B&P people ready to go, 21:56.090 --> 21:57.190 'cause this is coming. 21:57.463 --> 21:59.660 And then, typically, that's followed 21:59.660 --> 22:00.870 by the request for white paper. 22:00.870 --> 22:03.450 But the request for white paper doesn't just 22:03.450 --> 22:04.973 come out of the technical shop and that's it. 22:04.973 --> 22:07.040 They're working with the procurement folks 22:07.040 --> 22:09.110 here at Wright-Patt, they're working through us as well, 22:09.110 --> 22:12.997 in some cases, and in some cases those requirements 22:12.997 --> 22:14.930 are first heard of from our members, 22:14.930 --> 22:16.433 who are aware of needs. 22:17.410 --> 22:19.870 At each stage of that requirement development 22:19.870 --> 22:21.820 we're bringing in more and more detail. 22:21.830 --> 22:24.810 The more that we can share at that stage 22:24.810 --> 22:26.400 the better the responses are that 22:26.400 --> 22:27.660 you're gonna get in the first place. 22:27.660 --> 22:29.290 That's kind of one way where 22:29.290 --> 22:30.770 we're trying to keep pace with it, 22:30.770 --> 22:33.540 by kind of forward loading all of that 22:33.540 --> 22:35.340 level of detail at a granular level. 22:36.310 --> 22:38.160 And then you look at the industry day 22:38.490 --> 22:39.780 type of event that we do, 22:39.780 --> 22:43.530 which is after the white paper occurs, in most cases. 22:43.530 --> 22:45.500 And this is, again, for clarity, 22:45.500 --> 22:46.930 you're gonna see a lot of questions coming out. 22:46.930 --> 22:48.600 So you're gonna be able to really sharpen 22:48.600 --> 22:50.500 the requirement down at the RFP level. 22:51.343 --> 22:53.590 And then beyond that, there are a couple other 22:53.590 --> 22:55.390 things that can happen underneath 22:55.715 --> 22:58.750 an OTA that also happen on FAR-based initiatives, 22:58.750 --> 23:00.150 and that's just the teaming. 23:00.400 --> 23:03.060 For OTA using our particular parlance 23:03.130 --> 23:04.490 you're talking about traditional companies 23:04.490 --> 23:06.090 versus nontraditional companies, 23:06.400 --> 23:09.223 and in some cases we're finding members who, 23:11.120 --> 23:13.303 frankly, the Air Force never heard of before. 23:13.740 --> 23:15.680 But they don't know how to work with the Air Force, 23:15.680 --> 23:17.540 or didn't wanna work with the Air Force before. 23:17.540 --> 23:18.700 But they'll work with this guy, 23:18.700 --> 23:19.823 or this guy, right? 23:20.350 --> 23:22.310 That's a chance to build that mentor-protege 23:22.310 --> 23:25.990 type of a system and bring really, really 23:25.990 --> 23:27.920 cool technology or techniques forward 23:28.040 --> 23:31.300 that they didn't know existed outside of 23:31.300 --> 23:32.763 their own shops, as well. 23:33.070 --> 23:36.063 And so that's kind of a pay-it-forward kind of thing. 23:36.160 --> 23:38.630 And then lastly we partner with other groups 23:38.630 --> 23:41.383 that are probably a little bit more unorthodox. 23:41.870 --> 23:45.380 Groups like AIAA, or the Ohio Aerospace Institute, 23:45.380 --> 23:46.830 or Wright Brothers Institute. 23:46.930 --> 23:48.670 You just don't think of that when you're thinking 23:48.670 --> 23:50.000 on the sustainment side, right? 23:50.000 --> 23:51.900 You're thinking, these guys are all R&D. 23:51.900 --> 23:55.143 Well, when you think about the nexus of what we're doing, 23:55.820 --> 23:57.540 in some cases we have to reverse engineer stuff 23:57.540 --> 23:59.680 that already exists and can't be done anymore. 23:59.680 --> 24:00.660 So guess what? 24:00.660 --> 24:02.060 You're really building a prototype, 24:02.060 --> 24:03.490 so let's go to the people who work in that 24:03.490 --> 24:04.970 atmosphere and move that forward. 24:04.970 --> 24:07.420 So that's kind of a way we look at it 24:07.420 --> 24:09.670 from a consortium management firm perspective, 24:09.670 --> 24:12.440 but it certainly doesn't put the meat on the bone, 24:12.440 --> 24:13.760 maybe, it just provides some structure 24:13.760 --> 24:15.273 for the meat to be built. 24:19.215 --> 24:20.048 - Okay. 24:20.048 --> 24:22.490 So, I guess we'll move on to question three, 24:22.490 --> 24:23.820 unless anybody wants to add anything? 24:23.820 --> 24:25.333 I know I'm probably deviating from 24:25.333 --> 24:28.330 the protocol of the panel, but I think, 24:28.330 --> 24:29.880 Captain, I'm okay if I do that. 24:30.230 --> 24:31.063 Alright. 24:31.063 --> 24:31.896 - So I-- 24:31.963 --> 24:32.796 Thank you. (laughs) 24:32.796 --> 24:33.860 - I can add maybe a little, one item to that-- 24:33.860 --> 24:35.790 - Sure. - Question, if you don't mind. 24:35.790 --> 24:38.600 At Boeing, something we're trying to do 24:38.950 --> 24:42.020 in order to mitigate future integration issues 24:42.020 --> 24:45.280 is starting, and this may apply more so 24:45.280 --> 24:47.250 in some of the other areas rather than propulsion, 24:47.250 --> 24:48.660 but I'm sure we can find some way 24:48.660 --> 24:49.960 to apply it to propulsion. 24:50.290 --> 24:53.390 We're trying to design subsystems that are really 24:54.230 --> 24:56.693 platform-agnostic so that we can use, 24:57.910 --> 25:01.380 design a electronic box that is 25:01.380 --> 25:03.343 applicable to this application, 25:03.460 --> 25:05.563 and then if another application pops up, 25:05.720 --> 25:08.843 we can use that same box in that weapon. 25:09.050 --> 25:11.680 And that way we save a lot of time 25:11.680 --> 25:13.780 in development cost, development schedule. 25:13.850 --> 25:15.452 We've got a mature item that's 25:15.452 --> 25:17.513 off the shelf that we can use, 25:17.630 --> 25:22.033 and it just reduces risk and reduces any potential, 25:22.810 --> 25:24.430 reduces the integration issues 25:24.430 --> 25:26.173 that we see in new developments. 25:27.078 --> 25:29.195 Just wanted to throw that out there. 25:29.195 --> 25:30.111 - Okay, great. 25:30.111 --> 25:30.944 Thank you. 25:31.020 --> 25:33.370 - Ralph, I've got to get this one off my chest. 25:33.410 --> 25:34.623 - No, go for it! 25:34.623 --> 25:37.723 - Four years of experience working with industry, 25:37.890 --> 25:39.603 particularly small businesses, 25:39.760 --> 25:42.113 we were talking about putting meat on the bone. 25:42.900 --> 25:45.393 I can tell you, and maybe my view's tainted, 25:45.730 --> 25:48.720 small business would prefer, 25:48.720 --> 25:51.040 or I should say it's easier to work with 25:51.260 --> 25:54.733 this guy and this guy, versus the government. 25:55.800 --> 25:58.020 For what it's worth, small business 25:58.020 --> 26:01.170 would much prefer contracting with one of the OEMs 26:01.170 --> 26:04.250 to provide a product that will be baked in, 26:04.250 --> 26:05.750 that meat on the bone, versus trying to 26:05.750 --> 26:06.987 break into the government system 26:06.987 --> 26:09.150 and working with the bureaucracy of the government. 26:09.150 --> 26:11.110 I just throw that out as an unpaid editorial 26:11.110 --> 26:13.100 just because that's something I believe 26:13.100 --> 26:16.140 that we all face, and so for the OEMs that are in here, 26:16.140 --> 26:18.580 small business truly does like to work with you 26:18.580 --> 26:20.580 because you're much easier to work with. 26:24.340 --> 26:25.173 - Good, sir? 26:25.494 --> 26:26.327 - Yeah. 26:26.327 --> 26:27.160 - Okay. (laughs) 26:27.160 --> 26:28.493 - I feel better now. 26:28.493 --> 26:29.326 - (laughs) It's all good, sir. 26:29.326 --> 26:31.703 I'm glad you were able to get that off your chest. 26:32.430 --> 26:34.780 Alright, so moving on to question number three. 26:35.990 --> 26:37.830 What challenges do you see when it comes to 26:37.830 --> 26:41.003 keeping a competitive edge against foreign competition, 26:41.500 --> 26:42.650 or foreign competitors? 26:43.350 --> 26:44.400 - I'll take this one. 26:45.050 --> 26:47.330 A couple of things that come to mind for us 26:47.330 --> 26:50.083 are the contracting process itself, 26:51.380 --> 26:54.943 intellectual property, and then also risk tolerance. 26:56.390 --> 26:58.610 When we look at the total amount of lead time 26:58.610 --> 27:01.430 it takes from going from a concept to getting 27:01.430 --> 27:04.003 some new capabilities actually out in the field, 27:05.100 --> 27:08.072 we feel really strongly that, in the US, 27:08.072 --> 27:10.720 innovation gives us a huge head start 27:10.720 --> 27:12.090 against our foreign competitors. 27:12.090 --> 27:14.982 We're able to draw from the creativity 27:14.982 --> 27:17.490 and the culture here to come up with 27:17.490 --> 27:19.273 really good new ideas. 27:20.570 --> 27:22.170 So we're ahead of our competition there. 27:22.170 --> 27:23.910 Then we get a little bit bogged down 27:23.910 --> 27:25.820 in the actual length of time that it takes 27:25.820 --> 27:27.860 to get things through contract. 27:27.860 --> 27:31.980 And part of that bottleneck is the large number 27:31.980 --> 27:34.210 of requirements that can come through 27:34.510 --> 27:38.390 as we're either negotiating or evaluating 27:38.390 --> 27:41.620 or proposing a new contract. 27:41.620 --> 27:44.210 And so we feel like some of our foreign competitors 27:44.370 --> 27:46.520 use that time to kind of catch back up 27:46.990 --> 27:50.093 the gains that we had made through our innovation. 27:51.467 --> 27:53.270 What we're doing is really trying to focus on 27:53.270 --> 27:56.010 a smaller set of requirements that I mentioned earlier 27:56.010 --> 27:57.660 that we think could speed through 27:58.010 --> 27:59.640 not only the contracting process 27:59.640 --> 28:02.590 but the proposal and then actually the development process. 28:03.620 --> 28:05.990 A second thing is intellectual property, 28:05.990 --> 28:09.320 and I think none of us would argue 28:09.320 --> 28:12.080 with the fact that there are competitors 28:12.080 --> 28:16.143 that are actively trying to take our intellectual property. 28:16.230 --> 28:18.590 We all face that in different ways 28:18.590 --> 28:20.740 and have different ways of dealing with it. 28:22.268 --> 28:23.900 In addition to kind of building 28:23.900 --> 28:27.203 stronger walls around our IP, 28:27.820 --> 28:29.300 we're thinking about at Pratt and Whitney 28:29.300 --> 28:32.880 different ways of actually categorizing what data 28:32.880 --> 28:34.933 is really, needs to be protected. 28:35.270 --> 28:37.180 We've gone beyond some of the kind of 28:37.180 --> 28:40.330 classic definitions of ITAR and EAR 28:41.040 --> 28:43.080 and looked at really what sort of 28:43.080 --> 28:45.080 additional controls that we need 28:45.345 --> 28:47.940 for our manufacturing data, 28:47.940 --> 28:52.343 our material specifications that are proprietary, 28:52.460 --> 28:55.610 and even some of the technologies that we use 28:55.610 --> 28:58.713 to be able to ramp up production more quickly. 28:59.260 --> 29:02.593 If they have access to that, that could help them, 29:03.220 --> 29:05.420 again, overcome some of the advances 29:05.420 --> 29:07.733 that we have because of our innovation. 29:08.020 --> 29:09.560 We're taking steps across the company, 29:09.560 --> 29:11.223 including in our commercial side, 29:11.290 --> 29:13.140 to make sure that we're protecting 29:13.580 --> 29:17.393 that critical intellectual property from foreign theft. 29:18.650 --> 29:20.287 And finally, I think for us, 29:20.287 --> 29:22.143 and I mentioned risk tolerance. 29:22.820 --> 29:25.993 Creating a culture, and Dr. Roper talked about it, 29:26.017 --> 29:27.530 and General Holmes talked about it, 29:27.530 --> 29:29.880 is creating this culture where we have more 29:31.400 --> 29:34.163 ability to tolerate risk and failure. 29:34.470 --> 29:36.770 We think that some of our foreign competitors, 29:36.940 --> 29:39.950 frankly, have a lot more tolerance for failure. 29:39.950 --> 29:42.840 That the stakes, they have a lot more to gain, 29:42.840 --> 29:45.043 and therefore they can take a lot more risk. 29:45.500 --> 29:48.030 For them, you know, failing four times 29:48.030 --> 29:51.453 before they get it right once is just part of it. 29:51.850 --> 29:54.350 For us, we have a culture where the first failure 29:54.350 --> 29:58.110 is a huge setback and could set us back a year 29:58.110 --> 29:59.970 while we try to figure out what we did wrong, 29:59.970 --> 30:03.180 and then try to change our design 30:03.180 --> 30:05.773 and analyze things and order new material. 30:06.280 --> 30:09.137 Having that additional risk tolerance 30:09.137 --> 30:11.410 and making risk-based decisions 30:11.600 --> 30:13.080 earlier in the process, which is, 30:13.080 --> 30:14.640 again, something that has been a theme 30:14.640 --> 30:15.560 throughout this whole conference, 30:15.560 --> 30:17.630 we think is also really important 30:17.630 --> 30:20.133 to gaining an edge over our foreign competitors. 30:20.740 --> 30:23.290 - So, I'm gonna follow up on that real quick, then. 30:23.350 --> 30:25.330 Because of what you're doing with GATORWORKS. 30:25.330 --> 30:27.173 So you talked a little bit about it, 30:27.310 --> 30:29.660 on another question, but how are you starting 30:29.660 --> 30:31.500 to incorporate that from your side of the house 30:31.500 --> 30:34.300 into your philosophy and moving forward with GATORWORKS? 30:34.960 --> 30:38.090 I mean, you've gotta have a risk tolerance fan, too, 30:38.090 --> 30:40.240 there, right, from a corporate perspective. 30:40.350 --> 30:41.503 I'm just trying to understand some of things 30:41.503 --> 30:43.033 that you just mentioned. - Yeah. 30:43.033 --> 30:45.730 - How are you internalizing that through GATORWORKS? 30:45.730 --> 30:47.560 And, Captain, I know I'm deviating 30:47.560 --> 30:49.960 from the panel standard, but I hope you're okay. 30:50.350 --> 30:51.183 Alright, thanks. 30:51.675 --> 30:53.020 - No, that's-- - If you wouldn't mind. 30:53.020 --> 30:53.950 - No, absolutely, that's a great question. 30:53.950 --> 30:56.310 I think part of it, as I mentioned before, 30:56.310 --> 30:58.473 is having a smaller set of requirements. 30:58.560 --> 31:01.543 If you have 1500 requirements, 31:02.050 --> 31:06.700 you're gonna have 1499 that are good and one that's bad, 31:06.700 --> 31:09.053 and it's considered a failure, right? 31:09.250 --> 31:10.470 Depending on which one that is. 31:10.470 --> 31:12.140 So having a smaller set of requirements 31:12.140 --> 31:14.010 allows you to have more success 31:14.010 --> 31:15.900 in the most important things that you're 31:15.900 --> 31:18.623 actually trying to achieve in a program. 31:19.150 --> 31:20.640 I would say, in GATORWORKS, you know, 31:20.640 --> 31:24.850 we're still waiting for some big failures, 31:24.850 --> 31:27.900 and waiting to see how much support we're gonna get. 31:27.900 --> 31:32.893 And (laughs) and how much more funding we're gonna get. 31:33.690 --> 31:36.140 But I would say a couple things. 31:36.140 --> 31:38.490 So for example, I'll give an example of a team. 31:39.480 --> 31:41.510 We were about a week away from the PDR 31:41.510 --> 31:43.573 on one of our GATORWORKS projects, 31:43.740 --> 31:47.170 and the team knew that the design that they had 31:48.290 --> 31:50.920 was gonna drive, the lead time for some of the 31:50.920 --> 31:52.563 hard-tooling that they needed, 31:53.040 --> 31:54.573 wasn't gonna fit the schedule. 31:54.910 --> 31:59.073 And they actually bumped the PDR out by a week, 31:59.170 --> 32:00.260 made the decision right then and there 32:00.260 --> 32:02.230 we're gonna redesign this part 32:02.430 --> 32:04.933 and we're gonna cut out the hard-tooling. 32:04.940 --> 32:07.483 We're gonna go to a machine part, 32:07.700 --> 32:10.223 and move right on. 32:10.460 --> 32:11.693 And we said great. 32:12.000 --> 32:14.210 Slipped the PDR, no problem, 32:14.210 --> 32:16.803 you did the right thing for the overall program. 32:17.845 --> 32:19.240 I don't know if that's considered a failure, 32:19.240 --> 32:22.660 but we created a system where they didn't even have to ask, 32:22.660 --> 32:26.200 they just told me we're moving the date by this much 32:26.320 --> 32:28.783 and here's the reason why, and they went on. 32:28.991 --> 32:29.824 - Really. 32:29.824 --> 32:30.657 - I don't know if that's a good example. 32:30.657 --> 32:32.600 - No, I appreciate you adding a little bit to that. 32:32.600 --> 32:33.530 - I think one of the other things 32:33.530 --> 32:34.745 that we're doing, too, as well, 32:34.745 --> 32:38.010 is adding some amount of vertical integration 32:38.010 --> 32:40.370 so that we're planning for failure 32:40.520 --> 32:43.210 and we're actually setting up to be able to 32:43.370 --> 32:46.493 get back into test very, very rapidly. 32:46.680 --> 32:50.420 So we have a critical part, and instead of ordering 32:50.420 --> 32:55.150 one or two, we ordered six blanks of raw material, 32:55.150 --> 32:58.453 we machined them all down to near-net shape, 32:58.740 --> 33:01.990 we take one all the way down to the final geometry, 33:01.990 --> 33:03.030 and we run it on the test. 33:03.030 --> 33:06.980 We know that's gonna fail, and we have five more 33:06.980 --> 33:08.960 waiting that we can machine within a week 33:08.960 --> 33:10.110 and get back into task. 33:10.550 --> 33:11.383 - Great. 33:11.383 --> 33:13.640 - We had another part where the team knew that 33:14.130 --> 33:16.950 the brace was gonna crack on a part. 33:16.950 --> 33:20.780 And we, they were gonna redesign the part, 33:20.780 --> 33:22.453 they were gonna delay the test, 33:22.580 --> 33:24.040 and we said well, you're only gonna 33:24.040 --> 33:26.693 run up to a certain parameter, 33:26.810 --> 33:28.913 and if it cracks, what will happen? 33:29.120 --> 33:29.953 Nothing. 33:29.953 --> 33:31.290 Can you actually still achieve the data 33:31.290 --> 33:32.640 that you want to get off that test? 33:32.640 --> 33:33.473 Yes. 33:33.473 --> 33:34.306 Let it crack. 33:34.306 --> 33:35.139 - Great. 33:35.450 --> 33:36.510 No, I appreciate that. 33:36.510 --> 33:38.480 'Cause it's interesting to me to see, 33:38.480 --> 33:40.140 you know, it's easy to talk the talk, 33:40.140 --> 33:42.160 but how do you actually internalize that and move forward? 33:42.160 --> 33:43.530 So it sounds like you guys are really 33:43.530 --> 33:45.410 pushing forward in some areas that, 33:45.410 --> 33:48.483 historically, we haven't allowed or haven't done before. 33:48.591 --> 33:50.040 So that's pretty good. 33:50.040 --> 33:53.113 - And having that small team that's off-site, 33:53.330 --> 33:57.450 and is able to kind of make some of those decisions 33:57.450 --> 34:00.010 without, maybe, some of the oversight 34:00.010 --> 34:03.773 that we might have had in the past, has freed them up. 34:05.000 --> 34:06.360 As they've gone along and come through 34:06.360 --> 34:08.210 these examples and realize, oh, we actually 34:08.210 --> 34:10.153 can make these decisions as a team, 34:10.430 --> 34:11.930 that's actually built their confidence 34:11.930 --> 34:13.833 in making more of the right decisions. 34:14.110 --> 34:14.943 - Great. 34:14.943 --> 34:16.830 And, like I did last time, I open it up to, 34:16.830 --> 34:18.170 if there's any other panel members 34:18.170 --> 34:20.643 that have a burning desire to chime in. 34:20.690 --> 34:21.523 Sure? 34:21.550 --> 34:22.870 - This will not be a dig, Ralph. 34:22.870 --> 34:26.380 I gotta pose a question, and I was looking around 34:26.380 --> 34:28.010 the audience to make sure nobody was here 34:28.010 --> 34:30.600 who actually was in a forum I was at last week. 34:30.600 --> 34:34.582 And it was an S&T forum, and I know that the 34:34.582 --> 34:38.037 S&T community, FRL community, is going to be 34:38.037 --> 34:40.650 presenting to the Secretary a study, 34:40.650 --> 34:42.310 the 2030 study of where we're going 34:42.310 --> 34:43.763 with science and technology, 34:44.140 --> 34:48.093 and part of that is going to deal with workforce. 34:48.790 --> 34:51.283 As I think about competitive advantage, 34:52.529 --> 34:55.253 I think what's gonna be posed in that study is 34:55.253 --> 34:57.313 that there's a global workforce, 34:57.830 --> 35:00.800 and are we as a nation taking advantage 35:00.800 --> 35:02.833 of that global workforce? 35:02.880 --> 35:04.590 And the reason I bring this up is 35:04.590 --> 35:07.480 one of the companies that I have supported 35:07.970 --> 35:10.320 had done due diligence but had some 35:10.320 --> 35:12.140 really good people in other countries 35:12.140 --> 35:14.723 that were supporting some of their activity, 35:14.840 --> 35:16.220 and they've had to actually eliminate 35:16.220 --> 35:17.530 those people from their workforce 35:17.530 --> 35:20.523 because of the changing rules within our government. 35:20.750 --> 35:23.680 And so I think it's counter to what's probably 35:23.680 --> 35:26.863 going to come out as we think about being competitive, 35:27.010 --> 35:29.333 as a nation, competitive with technology, 35:29.510 --> 35:31.853 and making that risk determination. 35:33.890 --> 35:36.160 Country X may not be the same risk proposition 35:36.160 --> 35:38.880 as Country Y, and so I guess I'm more 35:38.880 --> 35:42.623 posing the question for us as a competitive advantage. 35:42.780 --> 35:45.770 Are we being short-sighted in our ability 35:45.770 --> 35:48.820 to reach out and find talent outside of 35:48.820 --> 35:51.153 our borders to support our effort? 35:51.920 --> 35:53.140 I'll probably be tarred and feathered 35:53.140 --> 35:54.050 for raising the question, 35:54.050 --> 35:56.760 but it's one that we've had to deal with with a company, 35:56.760 --> 35:58.150 we had to make the hard decision 35:58.150 --> 36:00.180 to eliminate people off the rolls 36:00.180 --> 36:02.430 because of the government's hard stance 36:02.500 --> 36:05.363 that they've taken, but it's been painful. 36:07.337 --> 36:09.000 - That's an interesting question, 36:09.000 --> 36:11.840 'cause it does pose that global workforce 36:11.840 --> 36:13.890 kind of conundrum that we're living with. 36:14.620 --> 36:16.347 You think about the challenges we have here, 36:16.347 --> 36:18.500 and we talk about it, and you've heard it for years, 36:18.500 --> 36:21.620 the STEM workforce, and getting that STEM workforce 36:21.620 --> 36:22.970 up to where it needs to be. 36:23.771 --> 36:26.187 It'd be interesting to see what comes out of that S&T 2030 36:26.187 --> 36:28.450 and how we go forward, because I think, 36:28.450 --> 36:30.600 to your point, we've seen more of a 36:31.131 --> 36:33.590 tightening up in those areas, maybe, 36:33.590 --> 36:34.940 than we've had in the past. 36:35.390 --> 36:37.080 - Yeah, tightening up, and as I've had 36:37.080 --> 36:39.150 the opportunity to travel around the globe, 36:39.150 --> 36:41.070 there are some remarkable people 36:41.070 --> 36:43.700 out there that have supported us in other areas. 36:43.700 --> 36:46.210 And obviously we have close relationships 36:46.210 --> 36:49.843 with some of those, both corporately and nation to nation. 36:51.870 --> 36:55.400 - So I like what Dave said about the slog of contracting, 36:55.400 --> 36:57.563 'cause we've certainly seen that at Boeing. 36:57.860 --> 36:59.050 And I also like what he said about 36:59.050 --> 37:01.173 the risk tolerance. 37:01.770 --> 37:03.873 In fact, I think he kinda stole my answers. 37:05.510 --> 37:06.880 The only thing I wanted to add to that was, 37:06.880 --> 37:09.453 as far as the risk tolerance, 37:10.100 --> 37:11.853 I think it's really important that we, 37:12.285 --> 37:14.460 and we don't do a very good job at Boeing right now, 37:14.460 --> 37:16.670 but we're trying, we're starting to get more into that, 37:16.670 --> 37:21.360 is prototyping and doing early tests to prototype things. 37:21.360 --> 37:23.670 And if we fail, that's great, that's the best way to learn, 37:23.670 --> 37:24.743 is by failing, right? 37:26.180 --> 37:28.920 I think it's important that we not be afraid to fail 37:28.920 --> 37:31.140 and that we increase our prototyping. 37:31.140 --> 37:33.083 Of course, that requires a commitment, 37:33.390 --> 37:35.313 a investment commitment. 37:35.530 --> 37:37.553 That is sometimes the difficult part. 37:38.600 --> 37:40.870 If we can focus more on the prototyping 37:40.870 --> 37:45.870 and innovating that way, I think that'd be a net positive. 37:49.590 --> 37:50.423 - Okay. 37:50.423 --> 37:52.633 Alright, so let's move on to the next question. 37:53.240 --> 37:56.183 This one's a two-parter, so, 37:56.580 --> 37:57.833 panel members, I can, 37:58.140 --> 37:59.630 what I'd like to do is read part one, 37:59.630 --> 38:01.080 and give that opportunity, 38:01.080 --> 38:02.260 and then follow up with part two 38:02.260 --> 38:04.070 so you're not trying to remember what I said, 38:04.070 --> 38:04.903 if that's fair. 38:06.320 --> 38:07.153 I think that's fair. 38:07.153 --> 38:09.033 Okay, so part one. 38:09.400 --> 38:11.630 What actions can we take to ensure these products 38:11.630 --> 38:13.260 still receive adequate support 38:13.260 --> 38:14.660 throughout their life cycle? 38:17.350 --> 38:19.790 - C.D., I'm gonna go to you on this one first, 38:19.790 --> 38:22.180 because personally I think I just got this action item 38:22.180 --> 38:24.340 'cause I missed part of the call when we did this. 38:24.340 --> 38:27.713 (audience and panel members laughing) 38:27.713 --> 38:28.861 - Were you passing the buck on that one? 38:28.861 --> 38:29.694 - Just a little bit. 38:29.694 --> 38:30.527 - Okay. 38:31.860 --> 38:34.190 The actual, the preface to that question is 38:34.472 --> 38:36.390 the Air Force maintains items that 38:36.390 --> 38:40.210 are no longer used or manufactured by industry, 38:40.210 --> 38:42.540 so what actions can we take to ensure those products 38:42.540 --> 38:45.490 are gonna get adequate support throughout their life cycle? 38:46.452 --> 38:49.423 Again, I'll put on my small business hat, 38:49.760 --> 38:52.380 and where we're going with additive manufacturing 38:52.380 --> 38:54.740 and the capability of manufacturers today 38:54.920 --> 38:57.413 to be able to support legacy systems. 38:58.670 --> 39:00.280 The question is are we being as aggressive 39:00.280 --> 39:03.150 as we could be to capitalize on the innovation 39:03.150 --> 39:06.430 that's in small business and that changing technology. 39:06.430 --> 39:08.600 And a process question, Ralph, 39:08.600 --> 39:10.450 I know you and I have talked about it in the past. 39:10.450 --> 39:13.680 We have a burdensome bureaucracy 39:13.730 --> 39:16.540 of getting approval for third party vendors 39:16.540 --> 39:19.393 to provide parts and pieces to legacy systems, 39:19.560 --> 39:20.940 and I know there's a lot of reasons, 39:20.940 --> 39:22.290 technical engineering reasons, 39:22.290 --> 39:24.133 why we're cautious about that, 39:24.280 --> 39:26.030 but, again, I'll go back to the risk proposition. 39:26.030 --> 39:28.030 Are we being overly cautious about allowing 39:28.030 --> 39:30.103 third party vendors to produce parts, 39:30.140 --> 39:31.920 particularly with changing technologies 39:31.920 --> 39:33.483 with additive manufacturing? 39:33.570 --> 39:34.680 I think additive manufacturing, 39:34.680 --> 39:35.960 just like predictive analytics, 39:35.960 --> 39:38.240 is going to change the landscape 39:38.500 --> 39:40.590 of supportability for every system, 39:40.590 --> 39:43.603 both commercial and DoD system, in our lifetime. 39:44.720 --> 39:46.670 That would be my question and my point. 39:47.070 --> 39:48.940 The SAR process needs to be looked at, 39:48.940 --> 39:51.180 and asking a hard question, 39:51.180 --> 39:54.090 are we taking advantage of incredible capability 39:54.090 --> 39:56.903 in our smaller businesses that can do this? 39:58.480 --> 39:59.313 - That gave me a-- 39:59.313 --> 40:00.350 - Now I'll pass it back to you. 40:00.350 --> 40:02.650 - That gave me the light bulb moment I needed. 40:03.660 --> 40:05.630 Getting back to the small business side. 40:05.630 --> 40:07.160 And not necessarily just small business, 40:07.160 --> 40:09.440 but nontraditional in that, meaning those who have 40:09.440 --> 40:11.800 chosen to not work with the government before, 40:11.800 --> 40:14.100 or have not worked with the government before. 40:14.850 --> 40:17.990 And specifically I saw this take shape in person 40:17.990 --> 40:19.860 during an industry day event we held recently 40:19.860 --> 40:24.043 for the propulsion consortium initiative on missile engines. 40:24.634 --> 40:27.720 Because I can't divulge what was said, 40:27.720 --> 40:30.533 or by whom, and what context, 40:30.770 --> 40:32.700 what I will tell you is what was kinda cool was 40:32.700 --> 40:34.480 everybody in the room, there was a mix, right, 40:34.480 --> 40:36.080 so there was large companies, 40:36.080 --> 40:37.110 there were smaller companies, 40:37.110 --> 40:38.870 there were a ton of government people 40:38.870 --> 40:41.670 from various services, whether it was Air Force, 40:41.670 --> 40:44.173 Navy, DARPA, and the like. 40:44.430 --> 40:47.200 But the whole point was they all got to hear how 40:48.180 --> 40:49.892 Small Company A was gonna work with 40:49.892 --> 40:53.273 Larger Company B to look at, 40:53.440 --> 40:55.400 well, jeez, how can we actualize 40:56.340 --> 40:59.130 the after-market car industry 40:59.690 --> 41:03.070 to steer it towards manufacturing needs we have? 41:03.070 --> 41:03.903 Because, why? 41:03.903 --> 41:05.073 Well, because they're fast. 41:05.450 --> 41:07.050 They know how to run their machinery. 41:07.050 --> 41:07.920 They know how it works. 41:07.920 --> 41:08.840 They know what's gonna break. 41:08.840 --> 41:11.613 And they know how to run with the flow a little bit. 41:11.940 --> 41:15.300 So the challenge, I would say, back to the government is 41:15.680 --> 41:17.070 put a little faith in the small industry 41:17.070 --> 41:18.420 that they know what they're doing. 41:18.420 --> 41:21.320 Just because they chose not to work for a big company 41:21.320 --> 41:22.640 or a big firm or become a big firm 41:22.640 --> 41:24.790 doesn't mean that they're not successful. 41:24.790 --> 41:26.610 They may have achieved exactly what they want. 41:26.610 --> 41:28.210 They wanna stay small and agile. 41:28.280 --> 41:29.950 But they also know where they fit, 41:29.950 --> 41:32.610 and if that fit is with a Boeing 41:32.610 --> 41:35.083 or a Pratt or whoever, then so be it. 41:35.400 --> 41:37.250 Then you get the best of both worlds. 41:40.500 --> 41:41.800 - Anyone else on the panel 41:42.030 --> 41:43.400 who'd like to chime in on that one? 41:43.400 --> 41:45.553 - I think I was supposed to go next, here. 41:45.750 --> 41:46.583 - Okay. 41:47.081 --> 41:48.440 - One of the initiatives that we're looking at 41:48.440 --> 41:51.493 right now and piloting out is called the Digital Depot. 41:52.620 --> 41:56.010 That's not just applying some kind of 41:56.010 --> 41:59.170 digital processes to better plan 41:59.170 --> 42:01.663 and manage our spares and inventory. 42:02.170 --> 42:04.400 But it's taking some digital technology 42:04.400 --> 42:07.740 into the Depot to be able to focus on 42:08.280 --> 42:11.150 more accurately diagnosing and understanding 42:11.150 --> 42:13.850 the status of parts so that ideally 42:13.850 --> 42:16.050 we can either figure out whether the part is 42:16.120 --> 42:19.123 reusable or reparable instead of just 42:19.123 --> 42:22.423 defaulting to swapping out to a spare. 42:23.000 --> 42:25.150 And the team is piloting this out right now 42:26.287 --> 42:28.190 and looking at new technologies. 42:28.190 --> 42:31.460 For example, blue light scanning parts, 42:31.460 --> 42:35.210 to be able to actually rapidly scan a part 42:35.440 --> 42:38.510 and compare that digitally to either 42:38.510 --> 42:41.323 the model of the original part, 42:41.500 --> 42:43.850 the predicted wear that we would expect 42:43.850 --> 42:45.593 to see of this part at this time, 42:45.760 --> 42:49.210 or ideally in the future, compare it to the last time 42:49.210 --> 42:51.963 that that exact part was actually scanned. 42:52.440 --> 42:54.880 And by actually bringing that data together 42:54.880 --> 42:57.063 and looking over the life of these parts, 42:57.220 --> 42:59.340 we can have a better understanding of 42:59.460 --> 43:01.543 how we predicted the reliability, 43:01.590 --> 43:03.480 where the actual reliability is coming in, 43:03.480 --> 43:05.810 and again, help make better decisions ideally 43:05.810 --> 43:09.300 to figure out whether we can have a longer life 43:09.300 --> 43:12.330 or a repair process that can 43:12.330 --> 43:13.943 save time and money. 43:15.100 --> 43:17.500 Obviously, the ultimate goal is to keep things on wing 43:17.500 --> 43:20.510 as long as possible, so designing a more reliable product 43:20.510 --> 43:23.263 would hopefully avoid this in the future, as well. 43:24.010 --> 43:25.590 - And I appreciate the comments, 43:25.590 --> 43:27.713 because I live this pretty much every day. 43:29.083 --> 43:31.403 A large part of my portfolio is sustainment, 43:31.530 --> 43:34.250 in terms of about 75, 80% of my time 43:34.250 --> 43:36.923 is working legacy sustainment issues. 43:38.470 --> 43:42.253 The newest engine in a portfolio is still 15 years old. 43:44.140 --> 43:47.283 The oldest engines are approaching 60 years right now. 43:47.580 --> 43:49.370 So we live this on a regular basis, 43:49.370 --> 43:51.580 and we know as we move forward 43:51.580 --> 43:55.103 we're on this cusp of this technology and flexion, 43:55.140 --> 43:58.263 whether it's the data gathering, the predictives, 43:58.310 --> 44:00.730 whether it's leveraging the additive, 44:00.730 --> 44:02.573 3D printing sort of environment. 44:02.890 --> 44:05.083 As we move forward in that arena, 44:05.540 --> 44:08.090 we're looking at our processes that you brought up, 44:08.640 --> 44:10.560 C.D., and trying to figure out how to be 44:10.560 --> 44:12.503 more agile and open up that aperture. 44:13.030 --> 44:14.580 From your perspectives, though, 44:14.930 --> 44:16.690 I think that technologies are starting to get 44:16.690 --> 44:18.040 to the point where we've talked about 44:18.040 --> 44:20.200 a lot of these things for a long time, 44:20.200 --> 44:21.993 10 plus years in some cases. 44:22.690 --> 44:24.680 We're hitting that inflection point that 44:24.680 --> 44:26.530 I think we're gonna make large gains. 44:26.826 --> 44:28.743 I'd open this up to the panel. 44:29.050 --> 44:31.060 From your perspective, on our side of the house, 44:31.060 --> 44:33.110 what do we need to do to break down those barriers, 44:33.110 --> 44:34.340 potentially, that keeps us from 44:34.340 --> 44:35.990 making those large gains quickly? 44:36.270 --> 44:38.723 'Cause I'm challenging myself and my team, 44:39.060 --> 44:40.540 to, within the next six months, 44:40.540 --> 44:42.820 I'd like to roll out some real big pilots 44:43.090 --> 44:45.190 that are tackling some of these big areas. 44:45.730 --> 44:49.230 Any sort of ideas and things that I can do different 44:49.570 --> 44:52.113 with the team to encourage you all. 44:53.210 --> 44:55.710 David Angeletti, right, from a SOSSEC perspective, 44:56.000 --> 44:57.640 what are you looking at that helps me 44:57.640 --> 44:58.690 be able to go out there and, 44:58.690 --> 45:03.023 say, I wanna tackle this thing, 45:03.330 --> 45:05.820 and I wanna get something in the next three months 45:05.820 --> 45:07.230 that then I can probably go do, 45:07.230 --> 45:09.490 and I'll use the words field service eval, 45:10.290 --> 45:12.463 pilot, prototype program, whatever. 45:12.680 --> 45:14.750 And start actually getting results 45:14.750 --> 45:16.561 that then I can apply to a larger area. 45:16.561 --> 45:18.480 As you think about that, and you've talked about 45:18.480 --> 45:20.790 some good things, but I need to start 45:20.790 --> 45:23.220 packaging this thing and working out a process 45:23.220 --> 45:24.770 that allows me to move forward. 45:24.920 --> 45:26.270 Any sort of ideas, 'cause I got a lot of people 45:26.270 --> 45:28.193 in here can take notes for me. 45:28.540 --> 45:29.720 I'm looking forward to it. 45:29.720 --> 45:31.450 - We took a baby step in that, 45:31.450 --> 45:33.530 about a month ago, when we convened our 45:33.630 --> 45:37.003 general membership meeting out in Silver Spring, Maryland. 45:37.180 --> 45:38.960 And by baby step, what I mean is 45:38.960 --> 45:42.080 we took the agreement officers from all of our OTAs, 45:42.080 --> 45:44.580 shoved them in a room, and said sit down and talk. 45:44.960 --> 45:46.833 What works, what doesn't work, 45:47.060 --> 45:48.290 where are your tripping points, 45:48.290 --> 45:49.713 what's the biggest issues? 45:49.790 --> 45:51.670 Is it IP, is it this, is it that? 45:51.670 --> 45:53.520 Is it color of money, is it whatever. 45:54.630 --> 45:55.950 And so that was a baby step. 45:55.950 --> 45:59.220 And I think there was a good bit of back and forth. 45:59.220 --> 46:00.530 We were probably in there for at least 46:00.530 --> 46:02.180 two hours before we let them out. 46:02.610 --> 46:04.723 I think somebody lost the key is what happened. 46:06.180 --> 46:09.903 The end of it was now you've got crossroads. 46:10.410 --> 46:14.750 Cross-service AOs, all working under OTs with specific 46:14.750 --> 46:17.370 RDT&E type prototype OTAs in place 46:17.540 --> 46:20.650 going hey, wait a minute, I heard AFRL did this, 46:20.650 --> 46:22.600 or I heard Army did this, or I heard... 46:22.670 --> 46:25.280 And then they have a resource to go and investigate 46:25.280 --> 46:28.203 what that new mechanism might have been. 46:29.150 --> 46:31.520 We brought on a new award recently, 46:31.520 --> 46:34.570 about a month ago, and it's not quite kicked off yet, 46:34.570 --> 46:36.070 they have some building to do, 46:36.090 --> 46:37.580 infrastructure-wise with the Army, 46:37.580 --> 46:39.623 but it's for defensive cyber-operations. 46:39.960 --> 46:42.940 And we've got a particular PM in there that is 46:42.940 --> 46:45.230 trying out some new ways to on-road 46:45.480 --> 46:47.773 or on-ramp projects for the OTA. 46:48.270 --> 46:51.400 And they're all kind of whimsically-themed, if you will, 46:51.400 --> 46:54.893 like Labyrinth and Coliseum, and The Tank. 46:55.000 --> 46:57.173 I mean, it sounds kind of vicious, 46:57.240 --> 46:58.913 but think about this, though. 46:59.080 --> 47:02.623 The Coliseum concept is a trade show-type setup, 47:03.010 --> 47:05.760 where first the requirements is put out, 47:05.760 --> 47:07.773 so we're looking for solutions for X. 47:07.940 --> 47:08.773 Great. 47:08.773 --> 47:10.330 So any member of the consortium 47:10.330 --> 47:11.830 can come and put up a display. 47:12.290 --> 47:16.003 The buyers can walk around and get demos. 47:16.240 --> 47:18.440 They are authorized to purchase on the spot. 47:20.210 --> 47:22.210 That could speed things up a little bit. 47:22.730 --> 47:23.780 Now, that's an extreme, 47:23.780 --> 47:25.530 and we're talking about software and cyber, 47:25.530 --> 47:29.780 not how do you build an engine in a trade show hall, 47:29.780 --> 47:33.130 but the point is for whatever reason, 47:33.130 --> 47:35.350 they've chosen specifically to not think 47:35.350 --> 47:36.720 about what they're bound by, 47:36.720 --> 47:39.083 but what they're not bound to do. 47:39.157 --> 47:41.780 And I think that's the perspective of 47:42.250 --> 47:43.990 what's on the other side of that mirror. 47:43.990 --> 47:46.130 You gotta take a look at some of those on-ramps. 47:46.130 --> 47:49.567 But beyond that, you know, as consortias 47:49.813 --> 47:54.720 tend to be more vertically aligned, ours is very broad, 47:54.720 --> 47:58.670 so it covers a ton of spectrums and a ton of services, 47:58.670 --> 48:02.420 and at that we've got a really deep pocket of members 48:02.420 --> 48:04.810 who've got experience in the field 48:05.200 --> 48:07.893 with the guys having problems on your front lines. 48:08.050 --> 48:09.980 So maybe they've already talked about it, 48:09.980 --> 48:12.550 it just hasn't shown up any requirement document yet. 48:12.550 --> 48:15.705 So we could do a reverse requirement gathering, right. 48:15.705 --> 48:17.923 Go back to the members and say hey, 48:18.100 --> 48:19.993 what are you seeing that they're not fixing 48:19.993 --> 48:21.943 that you're wishing they would address? 48:22.230 --> 48:23.700 And at least it gives you a heads-up 48:23.700 --> 48:25.620 ahead of time of what to be looking for. 48:25.620 --> 48:28.080 At least, that's what extemporaneously 48:28.080 --> 48:29.130 I can come up with at this point. 48:29.130 --> 48:29.963 - No, that's good. 48:29.963 --> 48:31.343 'Cause I knew I threw that out, 48:31.500 --> 48:33.010 just listening to your comments, 48:33.010 --> 48:34.863 but I open it up again to the panel. 48:36.461 --> 48:37.294 Here you go. 48:37.294 --> 48:38.740 - Ralph, you know I'm not gonna be shy. 48:38.740 --> 48:40.990 And I've already been politically incorrect a couple times, 48:40.990 --> 48:42.363 so I'll do it a third time. 48:42.940 --> 48:44.810 I looked across the audience, 48:44.810 --> 48:47.570 and unless I'm mistaken I don't think 48:47.570 --> 48:49.370 we have a Millennial in here, do we? 48:49.633 --> 48:51.237 - Anybody gonna claim that? 48:51.237 --> 48:52.904 Steve. - There we go, 48:52.922 --> 48:54.572 we got one, oh there in the back. 48:55.280 --> 48:56.330 I can tell you, my experience, 48:56.330 --> 48:58.113 again, working with companies, 48:59.985 --> 49:02.733 and I'll go back to my comment about analytics. 49:03.200 --> 49:05.360 The science is changing rapidly, 49:05.360 --> 49:07.220 and Ralph, you and I have talked about this. 49:07.220 --> 49:09.700 We've become pretty mired in the way we've done business. 49:09.700 --> 49:11.080 And very content. 49:11.080 --> 49:12.730 This is how we've always done it, 49:12.840 --> 49:15.883 and it's discomforting to think about changing, 49:15.970 --> 49:17.100 and particularly changing in a 49:17.100 --> 49:21.623 rapidly moving new technology. 49:21.920 --> 49:25.970 I've seen Millennials be more open and aggressive 49:25.970 --> 49:29.020 about grabbing ahold of the new capabilities. 49:29.020 --> 49:30.773 For example, with data analytics, 49:30.790 --> 49:33.840 I grew up in an environment running F22 and F35. 49:33.840 --> 49:35.240 You gotta just instrument the crap 49:35.240 --> 49:36.980 outta something to get useful data 49:36.980 --> 49:39.483 to be able to actually do sound data analytics. 49:39.610 --> 49:40.963 That ain't the case, folks. 49:41.100 --> 49:43.390 I've seen some remarkable analytics done. 49:43.390 --> 49:46.403 I don't know of anybody in here from Agile Combat Support, 49:46.530 --> 49:48.740 but they got a bunch of old pieces of equipment 49:48.740 --> 49:51.310 that don't have a lot of data instrumented, 49:51.310 --> 49:54.270 but there's a lot of data associated with those systems, 49:54.270 --> 49:56.943 and you can do some really phenomenal data analytics. 49:57.170 --> 49:58.883 The young people get it, 49:59.190 --> 50:01.130 and they're willing to try new things 50:01.130 --> 50:03.113 and do that kind of data analytics. 50:03.220 --> 50:04.923 And they're more open-minded. 50:04.990 --> 50:07.313 But I'd also say they're more demanding about, 50:07.430 --> 50:08.763 don't give me an answer, 50:09.080 --> 50:12.360 give me the tools so I can do it myself. 50:12.360 --> 50:14.570 So I would just say we need to think differently, 50:14.570 --> 50:16.520 and this is one place where I believe 50:16.520 --> 50:18.530 the younger people are a step ahead of us, 50:18.530 --> 50:20.360 'cause they're thinking differently, and they're aggressive, 50:20.360 --> 50:21.193 and they wanna get their hands on it, 50:21.193 --> 50:22.787 and they wanna do it themselves. 50:23.950 --> 50:25.770 Third time I've been politically incorrect. 50:25.770 --> 50:26.603 Thank you. 50:26.640 --> 50:27.473 - No, no. 50:28.060 --> 50:29.560 Anyone else, before I move on? 50:30.720 --> 50:31.553 Okay. 50:32.261 --> 50:36.073 With that, let me go to the next question. 50:36.130 --> 50:37.730 We've actually gone through our main questions, 50:37.730 --> 50:39.950 we've got a lot of good responses from the panel, 50:39.950 --> 50:41.050 and I appreciate that. 50:41.220 --> 50:44.600 I know I've kind of got us off the normal panel 50:44.600 --> 50:47.573 sort of schedule thing there, but I'm good with that, 50:48.190 --> 50:49.830 'cause I want everybody to have an opportunity 50:49.830 --> 50:52.913 to chime in where they feel a burning desire. 50:54.194 --> 50:55.027 Or they want to. 50:55.378 --> 50:57.670 What I'd like to do is move up the next question, 50:57.670 --> 51:00.020 which is a backup question on your list, there. 51:01.400 --> 51:02.883 What existing roadblocks, 51:03.370 --> 51:05.570 what existing roadblocks or friction points 51:05.910 --> 51:07.793 hamper your ability to innovate? 51:08.090 --> 51:09.883 How can we, the USAF, help you? 51:10.550 --> 51:12.483 So, I do open that up to you all. 51:13.225 --> 51:16.763 And it's really looking around process and regulations. 51:17.100 --> 51:18.750 And I'll give you my perspective. 51:19.580 --> 51:21.160 And I've had this conversation with the team, 51:21.160 --> 51:23.583 I've had this conversation in other environments. 51:24.292 --> 51:26.880 We all talk about the DoD 5000.2, 51:26.907 --> 51:28.223 and those sorts of things, 51:28.400 --> 51:30.850 but I truly believe there's enough flexibility in those 51:30.850 --> 51:32.760 that there is ability to tailor, 51:32.760 --> 51:35.200 there's ability to be flexible, 51:35.200 --> 51:36.193 to be innovative. 51:36.350 --> 51:38.550 It's being able to have that risk tolerance, 51:38.630 --> 51:40.850 and then being able to make that intellectual argument 51:40.850 --> 51:42.793 of why you wanna go do something. 51:43.230 --> 51:45.040 Unfortunately, that's hard to do sometimes, 51:45.040 --> 51:47.793 because it's not the way we've done business before. 51:48.930 --> 51:51.630 Used to be a lot of layers that you had to go through, 51:51.720 --> 51:55.163 and it doesn't take but one to set you back to stage one. 51:55.650 --> 51:57.400 That's been sort of my perspective, 51:57.660 --> 51:59.193 living through this system, 51:59.520 --> 52:01.943 and I know you saw that a lot, General Moore. 52:03.580 --> 52:05.130 Obviously, being in F22 and F35 52:05.250 --> 52:07.920 and those other ones that had a ton of oversight 52:07.920 --> 52:09.670 as you went through those programs. 52:09.810 --> 52:11.280 But as you look at where we are today, 52:11.280 --> 52:14.343 and you saw a little bit today with Dr. Roper, 52:14.900 --> 52:16.810 things we're doing with the authorities that've been 52:16.810 --> 52:19.703 out there and just really hadn't been leveraged. 52:19.810 --> 52:21.960 And we're really jumping in on those today. 52:22.010 --> 52:23.410 What other things that are out there 52:23.410 --> 52:25.830 that we may not have leveraged, 52:25.830 --> 52:27.483 or don't know about well enough, 52:28.120 --> 52:28.953 that we should? 52:28.953 --> 52:30.593 Or what are the roadblocks? 52:30.593 --> 52:32.640 I will tell you, my perspective is, 52:32.640 --> 52:33.971 I think there's an environment today, 52:33.971 --> 52:36.113 that if we could identify a roadblock, 52:36.653 --> 52:38.850 that there's the leadership support 52:38.850 --> 52:40.360 to help move that out of the way, 52:40.360 --> 52:41.910 all the way up to the Congress. 52:42.350 --> 52:44.700 From your perspective, you all come at it 52:44.700 --> 52:47.253 from a different side of the spectrum, 52:47.630 --> 52:48.630 what would you look at, 52:48.630 --> 52:50.683 or what would you recommend we go tackle? 52:53.840 --> 52:55.940 - I'll throw in on that one, a little bit. 52:55.993 --> 52:56.826 - Yeah. 52:56.826 --> 52:58.440 - One thing we've had is trying to convince the guys 52:58.440 --> 53:03.125 propulsion that some things, technology isn't always, 53:03.125 --> 53:07.203 on the propulsion side, performance and fuel consumption. 53:07.530 --> 53:09.450 So technology can be low-cost. 53:09.450 --> 53:12.453 So low cost is a technology that you have to invest in. 53:12.880 --> 53:15.173 We've been pushing that for a lot of years. 53:15.310 --> 53:16.710 And we'll keep pushing that, 53:17.230 --> 53:18.880 as far as propulsion's concerned. 53:19.480 --> 53:21.340 Don't think that all technology 53:21.340 --> 53:23.513 is performance and fuel consumption. 53:30.420 --> 53:31.299 - I'm gonna let you guys think about this. 53:31.299 --> 53:32.803 - I'll give it a shot. 53:33.310 --> 53:37.190 At the risk of sounding really self-serving 53:37.190 --> 53:39.260 in front of my customer... 53:39.880 --> 53:41.950 I'm like the propulsion directorate, right? 53:41.950 --> 53:46.280 So we were awarded an OTA for an unnamed 53:46.280 --> 53:48.220 three-letter organization a week before 53:48.220 --> 53:49.523 we won the propulsion one. 53:51.860 --> 53:54.403 They've had one project on contract since then. 53:55.305 --> 53:56.655 It's a year and two months. 53:57.170 --> 54:01.623 We have looked at 13 requirements under that same OTA. 54:03.710 --> 54:05.320 In this case it's kind of like 54:05.320 --> 54:06.820 what you guys are doing right, 54:07.000 --> 54:09.330 as opposed to what everyone else is doing wrong. 54:09.330 --> 54:12.670 They are a morosely risk-averse group 54:12.670 --> 54:13.690 that I'm talking about. 54:13.690 --> 54:18.270 At the same time, what we've been able to uncover here, 54:18.270 --> 54:20.720 and I think leverage well to date within 54:20.720 --> 54:23.168 the propulsion directorate, is the same kind of 54:23.168 --> 54:25.997 motivation and sense of mission that 54:25.997 --> 54:30.283 we've also experienced through AFRL-RI up in Rome. 54:30.970 --> 54:32.733 Which was a predecessor as well. 54:35.070 --> 54:37.360 You've got a great group of people who understand 54:37.360 --> 54:41.163 that there is two ways to get things done quickly. 54:41.750 --> 54:45.343 You can do them efficiently and correctly, 54:45.600 --> 54:48.363 as long as everyone's communicating along the line, 54:48.670 --> 54:51.630 from the very endpoint being the technical 54:51.630 --> 54:54.203 program manager all the way to the performer, 54:55.410 --> 54:57.340 and then there're other ways where 54:57.520 --> 54:59.890 you just have somebody who signs pieces of paper 54:59.890 --> 55:01.100 but it doesn't really go anywhere 55:01.100 --> 55:02.650 because the requirement was half-baked. 55:02.650 --> 55:04.740 And that's, yeah, you got it done fast, 55:04.740 --> 55:06.290 but it didn't produce anything. 55:06.702 --> 55:09.540 From that standpoint, I think you guys have a great 55:10.282 --> 55:13.773 library of lessons learned to date within the Air Force. 55:14.300 --> 55:16.900 As you guys may know, there aren't a whole lot of OTAs 55:16.900 --> 55:18.853 operating in the Air Force. 55:19.310 --> 55:21.290 There are a few others that have a leg up, 55:21.290 --> 55:22.890 like the Army has a ton of them, 55:23.290 --> 55:24.540 and I gotta tell you they do things 55:24.540 --> 55:26.340 a little bit differently there, too. 55:26.760 --> 55:27.630 They are... 55:29.280 --> 55:31.310 Contrastingly, the Air Force, for instance, 55:31.310 --> 55:33.620 is the only branch of the services 55:33.620 --> 55:36.270 that will not accept certain colors of money 55:36.270 --> 55:38.093 for these OTAs. 55:38.280 --> 55:39.430 Don't know why that is. 55:40.640 --> 55:43.920 And we have had instances where 55:44.140 --> 55:47.590 we've had to go try to find other sources 55:47.880 --> 55:50.933 or vehicles, rather, for those solutions to be sought. 55:50.933 --> 55:54.010 And it's a shame because there should be parity 55:54.010 --> 55:55.350 amongst those services. 55:55.350 --> 55:57.850 So I see that as a roadblock because it's keeping you 55:57.850 --> 56:00.400 from using tried and true processes 56:00.600 --> 56:03.913 just because money's not money, 56:04.220 --> 56:05.053 if that makes sense. 56:05.053 --> 56:08.223 And that just seems strange from the industry side of it. 56:09.440 --> 56:12.390 - No, I can relate to that, 'cause I just got shot down 56:12.810 --> 56:13.643 on that one. 56:13.920 --> 56:14.753 - 1812? 56:15.193 --> 56:16.026 - Yeah. 56:17.900 --> 56:20.350 I'm with you, 'cause I'm trying to understand why. 56:20.350 --> 56:22.550 And I thought I had the ground laying pretty flat, 56:22.550 --> 56:24.750 I was trying to communicate and collaborate. 56:24.890 --> 56:28.070 Obviously I didn't do as well as I thought I did. 56:28.070 --> 56:32.393 If there's other, if there's tips from you, 56:32.524 --> 56:35.950 and how I go through that, 'cause I haven't given up, 56:35.950 --> 56:37.663 I've just gotta wait till the next FY, 56:38.075 --> 56:39.700 'cause I've run out of air speed right now. 56:39.700 --> 56:41.110 - It's an interesting conundrum, too, 56:41.110 --> 56:42.670 and in the sense of transparency, 56:42.670 --> 56:43.503 so everyone doesn't think we're-- 56:43.503 --> 56:45.010 - I'm being a little self-serving here. 56:45.010 --> 56:46.483 I'm trying to get your lessons now, okay? 56:46.483 --> 56:47.430 (laughing) 56:47.430 --> 56:50.366 - And I don't want it to not seem transparent, 56:50.366 --> 56:51.643 because it is. 56:51.750 --> 56:55.080 The biggest question comes from the contract 56:55.154 --> 56:57.250 and sometimes the FM side, 56:57.250 --> 57:00.140 where 3600 money's your RTD&E pot, 57:00.140 --> 57:02.643 that's what it's used for, end of story, full stop. 57:02.730 --> 57:04.301 But then you read the language in the OTA 57:04.301 --> 57:08.650 and from the NDAA, and it says should use RTD&E funds. 57:08.650 --> 57:10.460 Well, there's a little wiggle room there, at least. 57:10.460 --> 57:13.203 Every other service has taken advantage of the wiggle. 57:15.910 --> 57:18.870 I think a strong case could be made where yes, 57:18.870 --> 57:19.990 you're doing development work. 57:19.990 --> 57:22.923 On something that's already existing, proven, and fielded. 57:23.640 --> 57:24.530 In this case, right. 57:24.530 --> 57:27.990 So at the same time, if it's already been budgeted 57:27.990 --> 57:29.713 to expand an existing system, 57:30.150 --> 57:31.600 if you still need the requirement, 57:31.600 --> 57:32.700 you still need the requirement. 57:32.700 --> 57:34.610 What difference does it make what line item 57:34.610 --> 57:37.353 of a budget it comes off of if it was already planned? 57:37.910 --> 57:40.430 And I think that's probably the hardest thing to overcome 57:40.430 --> 57:42.779 because you're, somebody's saying, 57:42.779 --> 57:46.333 well here's this piece of paper and it's folded in half. 57:48.130 --> 57:48.963 Is it? 57:50.450 --> 57:52.340 Same piece of paper, just folded differently, 57:52.340 --> 57:54.353 I think, is really the question. 57:54.380 --> 57:57.190 I guess it's a personality thing, 57:57.190 --> 57:58.670 and like you said it's a cultural thing. 57:58.670 --> 58:00.690 It's, well, we haven't done it that way before, and damn it, 58:00.690 --> 58:01.910 I'm not gonna be the first one to do it, 58:01.910 --> 58:03.260 so let the next guy try it. 58:03.470 --> 58:04.910 And that's what you end up with. 58:04.910 --> 58:08.133 And I can understand the need for risk aversion, 58:08.210 --> 58:11.193 especially coming out of legal or financial departments. 58:11.260 --> 58:12.450 It's their heads that roll, right, 58:12.450 --> 58:14.530 so they're putting their heads on the line. 58:14.530 --> 58:17.830 At the same time, guys in the field still need the stuff. 58:17.830 --> 58:18.780 You're not helping. 58:19.430 --> 58:22.243 And some of these cases, especially under OTAs, 58:22.390 --> 58:25.290 we see some really rapid E1 and G1 type 58:25.290 --> 58:26.690 requirements coming through. 58:26.720 --> 58:29.120 And this is, no kidding, people are, 58:29.120 --> 58:31.070 bad things are gonna happen to guys in uniform 58:31.070 --> 58:32.220 if we don't get this stuff done, 58:32.220 --> 58:34.060 and you're telling me it's not the right color money, 58:34.060 --> 58:35.900 you have to use your Monopoly money for this. 58:35.900 --> 58:37.750 It just doesn't make sense when you got a bunch of people 58:37.750 --> 58:41.003 who really just wanna help and get the solution out there. 58:42.050 --> 58:43.810 - So, Dave how do you really feel about it? 58:43.810 --> 58:44.643 (panelists laughing) 58:44.643 --> 58:45.476 - You know-- 58:45.476 --> 58:46.309 - He's a little passionate, right? 58:46.309 --> 58:47.297 And that's a great thing. 58:47.760 --> 58:52.563 - Okay, this is my chance to publicly apologize. 58:54.410 --> 58:56.250 I didn't realize how hard it was 58:56.250 --> 58:57.650 to work with the government. 58:57.809 --> 58:59.192 (panelists laughing) 58:59.192 --> 59:01.590 When I had three stars on my shoulders 59:01.590 --> 59:04.190 I just thought everything was going swimmingly well. 59:04.540 --> 59:08.993 And now I realize how easily somebody can tell me no. 59:09.050 --> 59:11.713 The layers of bureaucracy, you got a great idea, 59:11.950 --> 59:13.890 and then working through the system 59:13.890 --> 59:17.980 with this great idea, how easy it is for one person 59:17.980 --> 59:21.753 in that process of approvals to say no. 59:23.350 --> 59:24.183 Very frustrating. 59:24.183 --> 59:26.363 I've gone home a number of nights, 59:26.370 --> 59:29.163 scratching my head and grimacing, how difficult, 59:29.804 --> 59:31.450 so I apologize for all those times 59:31.450 --> 59:33.730 that you were cursing me and my organization 59:33.730 --> 59:34.930 for making it difficult. 59:35.150 --> 59:37.173 I applaud what you're doing with OTAs. 59:37.230 --> 59:38.120 I really do. 59:38.120 --> 59:40.653 In fact, the guy to my left here, 59:40.740 --> 59:42.513 has taken a lead in this area, 59:42.570 --> 59:43.403 and it's not easy. 59:43.403 --> 59:45.430 It's not easy when you're actually leaning forward 59:45.430 --> 59:48.030 and challenging the system to do things differently. 59:48.250 --> 59:50.793 One area I'm tremendously excited about, 59:51.150 --> 59:55.033 it's this RSO initiative by the government. 59:55.580 --> 59:56.413 I don't know if we're calling it 59:56.413 --> 59:58.503 Rapid Supportability or Rapid Sustainment, 59:58.900 --> 01:00:01.283 and sometimes you gotta bring focus to an area, 01:00:01.410 --> 01:00:02.930 and you've gotta get the right level 01:00:02.930 --> 01:00:06.320 of top cover in the right type of governance 01:00:06.320 --> 01:00:07.870 where people say we're gonna do that 01:00:07.870 --> 01:00:09.890 so I'm real excited to see where the Air Force 01:00:09.890 --> 01:00:10.853 is going with this. 01:00:10.910 --> 01:00:14.523 I think it portends great things for supportability, 01:00:14.540 --> 01:00:17.170 for the engine community, and man I'd grab ahold 01:00:17.170 --> 01:00:18.280 of that one and I'd run with it. 01:00:18.280 --> 01:00:21.140 But OTAs and RSO, it's a nice start, 01:00:21.140 --> 01:00:23.673 but again I apologize for being such a, 01:00:23.860 --> 01:00:24.960 well, for being difficult. 01:00:24.960 --> 01:00:25.793 Thank you. 01:00:27.210 --> 01:00:28.693 - Anyone else, chime in? 01:00:29.720 --> 01:00:32.080 - I'll just add that I think the same argument 01:00:32.080 --> 01:00:35.540 can kinda be made with the imposition 01:00:35.540 --> 01:00:38.970 of all the component-level specifications 01:00:38.970 --> 01:00:40.270 that we have to deal with. 01:00:40.460 --> 01:00:42.923 And some of these are this thick, 01:00:43.470 --> 01:00:45.070 and if we really do believe that 01:00:45.260 --> 01:00:47.113 affordability is a technology, 01:00:47.320 --> 01:00:49.858 then we might wanna consider some flexibility 01:00:49.858 --> 01:00:53.370 in the requirements that are imposed on 01:00:54.810 --> 01:00:57.173 components via the specifications. 01:00:59.830 --> 01:01:01.160 - You're talking about trade space, 01:01:01.160 --> 01:01:02.910 and recognizing that trade space, 01:01:02.910 --> 01:01:04.410 to Joe's comment earlier about 01:01:05.210 --> 01:01:10.160 there is an IP in developing low-cost engines, 01:01:10.160 --> 01:01:11.707 right, I guess is the way I'd put it. 01:01:11.707 --> 01:01:12.540 - That's right. 01:01:12.540 --> 01:01:15.150 - So is there anything else beyond that that you see? 01:01:15.580 --> 01:01:16.660 'Cause I will tell you, 01:01:16.660 --> 01:01:18.563 I got four focus areas in propulsion. 01:01:18.760 --> 01:01:21.350 I'm a real simple guy, so it's four words, 01:01:21.350 --> 01:01:23.620 because that's all I can remember at one time. 01:01:23.620 --> 01:01:25.970 Ready, affordable, safe, and effective engines. 01:01:27.480 --> 01:01:29.680 Part of what we're pushing is affordability. 01:01:29.700 --> 01:01:31.320 Whether it's low-cost small engines, 01:01:31.320 --> 01:01:34.143 or how do I do business differently, 01:01:34.440 --> 01:01:38.163 so I can get faster and more competitive pricing, 01:01:38.440 --> 01:01:40.330 or how do I leverage some of those technologies, 01:01:40.330 --> 01:01:43.563 whether it's predictive analytics or a 3D additive. 01:01:44.000 --> 01:01:45.130 And as we continue to work that, 01:01:45.130 --> 01:01:46.823 I still see some barriers there, 01:01:47.160 --> 01:01:48.447 and how do I move forward. 01:01:48.447 --> 01:01:50.900 And a lot of it, I think, is what you've talked about. 01:01:50.900 --> 01:01:52.453 It's different than we've done, 01:01:52.910 --> 01:01:55.190 and some of that is how do I set up 01:01:55.190 --> 01:01:56.670 the right sort of structure and team 01:01:56.670 --> 01:01:58.320 to be able to push through those. 01:01:58.360 --> 01:02:00.590 And I'll just be open with you all, 01:02:00.590 --> 01:02:02.890 I'd be looking for you all to help me do that. 01:02:03.017 --> 01:02:05.280 On the Boeing side, you've talked about some things, 01:02:05.280 --> 01:02:08.470 but you're also getting more vertical, right. 01:02:08.470 --> 01:02:11.670 And I'm assuming that's, you're going vertical 01:02:11.670 --> 01:02:14.453 because that's cost and schedule that's driving that. 01:02:14.840 --> 01:02:17.140 So when you look at that, what are you doing different 01:02:17.140 --> 01:02:20.530 that drives that internally from a business process, 01:02:20.530 --> 01:02:23.440 regulation perspective, and is that truly a response 01:02:23.440 --> 01:02:26.890 to us in government or is that your way of keeping 01:02:26.890 --> 01:02:28.113 your competitive edge, 01:02:28.863 --> 01:02:31.963 not only in the US but internationally? 01:02:32.540 --> 01:02:34.110 I'm looking at you for that one, Bill. 01:02:34.110 --> 01:02:36.200 - Yeah, I don't know that I have a good answer for that. 01:02:36.200 --> 01:02:37.537 But I think it's some of both. - C'mon, tap dance, man. 01:02:37.537 --> 01:02:38.370 It's all good. 01:02:38.370 --> 01:02:39.863 (panelists laughing) 01:02:39.863 --> 01:02:43.210 - I think the answer is it's all about cost 01:02:43.210 --> 01:02:44.853 and competitiveness, right? 01:02:45.110 --> 01:02:47.140 So that's gotta be the reason we're 01:02:47.437 --> 01:02:48.970 primarily focusing on it. 01:02:48.970 --> 01:02:50.980 - And I just threw that one out there, 01:02:50.980 --> 01:02:51.813 and I know you're pinch-hitting, 01:02:51.813 --> 01:02:53.153 so I do appreciate that. 01:02:53.317 --> 01:02:54.940 I mean, as I look at industry, 01:02:54.940 --> 01:02:56.700 I see some of things you all are doing, 01:02:56.700 --> 01:02:59.110 and I think those are direct responses 01:02:59.110 --> 01:03:02.220 to either the business processes we have 01:03:02.220 --> 01:03:04.920 or that competitive pressure you're all feeling, 01:03:04.920 --> 01:03:07.543 not only internally to the US but the external, 01:03:07.800 --> 01:03:10.143 the global sort of competitive pressures. 01:03:10.520 --> 01:03:12.740 So what I'd like to do is do one more question, 01:03:12.740 --> 01:03:15.583 and it's gonna be the backup question, 01:03:16.400 --> 01:03:18.810 and I'm gonna focus on the sustainment 01:03:18.810 --> 01:03:21.720 question on this one because that is such a big thing. 01:03:21.720 --> 01:03:24.680 And I truly believe we're at an inflection point there 01:03:24.680 --> 01:03:27.130 so I'd like to get all your perspectives on this. 01:03:27.330 --> 01:03:29.119 How are you using data collection 01:03:29.119 --> 01:03:31.453 to achieve smarter sustainment? 01:03:31.880 --> 01:03:34.821 For example, adequate identification, 01:03:34.821 --> 01:03:37.560 predictive analytics, prognostics, 01:03:37.560 --> 01:03:38.873 prevention of issues. 01:03:39.420 --> 01:03:41.480 To me, that's the big game changer for us. 01:03:41.480 --> 01:03:43.550 I truly believe we're at that point where we can 01:03:43.550 --> 01:03:46.050 start leveraging the things we have talked about 01:03:46.050 --> 01:03:48.523 for the last 15, 20 years in propulsion. 01:03:48.850 --> 01:03:51.560 And just didn't have the right technology, 01:03:51.560 --> 01:03:53.023 I'll call it, to do that. 01:03:54.122 --> 01:03:55.563 What are you all looking at, 01:03:55.820 --> 01:03:57.067 from your perspective, on how to do that, 01:03:57.067 --> 01:03:59.467 and how do I leverage that also, moving forward? 01:04:00.333 --> 01:04:02.083 And I just open it up to the panel. 01:04:02.850 --> 01:04:04.023 - I'll start, Ralph. 01:04:04.060 --> 01:04:07.940 We have the ability today to compile, clean, 01:04:07.940 --> 01:04:12.433 and analyze millions of records in a pretty rapid pace. 01:04:14.880 --> 01:04:17.400 The predictive analytic space, as you said, 01:04:17.400 --> 01:04:20.387 is changing fast, and I think you put on top of that 01:04:20.387 --> 01:04:22.390 the technology that's advancing rapidly 01:04:22.390 --> 01:04:23.400 in machine learning. 01:04:23.400 --> 01:04:25.700 This is an opportunity that we need to be 01:04:25.700 --> 01:04:27.783 capitalizing on those capabilities. 01:04:30.830 --> 01:04:32.230 - Well there went my answer. 01:04:32.448 --> 01:04:35.531 (panelists laughing) 01:04:38.287 --> 01:04:41.960 - So, you know, I'm looking at you, David. 01:04:41.960 --> 01:04:43.773 Let me pull on the thread earlier. 01:04:44.380 --> 01:04:47.460 I apologize, panel members, because I'm actually 01:04:47.460 --> 01:04:49.743 pulling on threads of your earlier answers. 01:04:50.200 --> 01:04:51.513 Digital Depot, right. 01:04:51.750 --> 01:04:53.703 We've talked about this internally, 01:04:54.420 --> 01:04:56.680 and we wanna move forward and understand that better 01:04:56.680 --> 01:04:59.080 'cause we also, we wanna not only leverage that, 01:04:59.420 --> 01:05:00.570 at the Air Force side, but I also 01:05:00.570 --> 01:05:02.933 wanna look at how I expand that out. 01:05:03.180 --> 01:05:05.040 How do I leverage those lessons learned 01:05:05.040 --> 01:05:09.113 on one or two programs and say how do I take this broader? 01:05:09.450 --> 01:05:12.140 So, from your perspective, as you look at this internally, 01:05:12.140 --> 01:05:14.840 from a Digital Depot, and I know you're the panel member, 01:05:14.840 --> 01:05:16.401 but what are you thinking about? 01:05:16.401 --> 01:05:19.373 And I like your example of the app, right. 01:05:19.690 --> 01:05:21.370 So that seems to me that you are 01:05:21.370 --> 01:05:22.953 looking at ways to expand this. 01:05:22.953 --> 01:05:25.303 Can you expand on that a little bit more? 01:05:25.680 --> 01:05:27.610 In terms of what you're all doing internally? 01:05:27.610 --> 01:05:28.880 Because we're gonna have this meeting anyway, 01:05:28.880 --> 01:05:29.890 coming up at some point. 01:05:29.890 --> 01:05:30.723 - [Audience Member] Yes, exactly. 01:05:30.723 --> 01:05:32.240 - Right, Matthew? (laughs) 01:05:32.240 --> 01:05:33.960 But how do I start getting ready for that meeting 01:05:33.960 --> 01:05:35.710 with you all in the next few weeks? 01:05:36.556 --> 01:05:39.450 - I think it is kind of along the theme 01:05:39.450 --> 01:05:40.470 that I mentioned before. 01:05:40.470 --> 01:05:44.920 It's us thinking about different ways to collect 01:05:44.920 --> 01:05:47.910 and analyze the data that might already be out there. 01:05:47.910 --> 01:05:51.070 So you might actually have a lot of the data 01:05:51.070 --> 01:05:55.360 that we might need to use to provide a better 01:05:55.360 --> 01:05:56.193 solution for you. 01:05:56.193 --> 01:05:59.388 So I think we can find ways of figuring out how to 01:05:59.388 --> 01:06:03.850 take our commercial, the agile software approach, 01:06:03.850 --> 01:06:05.511 with our digital accelerator, right, 01:06:05.511 --> 01:06:09.320 and use that alternate approach to grab 01:06:09.320 --> 01:06:11.190 some of the data that you have 01:06:11.720 --> 01:06:14.080 sitting in logbooks and records that are 01:06:14.080 --> 01:06:15.693 out in the field somewhere. 01:06:15.830 --> 01:06:18.293 If we can pull that data together really quickly, 01:06:18.430 --> 01:06:20.130 then I think we can work together 01:06:20.130 --> 01:06:22.183 to find out what really is happening. 01:06:22.810 --> 01:06:25.140 All we know right now is how many spare parts 01:06:25.140 --> 01:06:27.117 you're ordering, or, you know. 01:06:27.117 --> 01:06:31.163 And what we predicted the reliability to be. 01:06:31.390 --> 01:06:33.230 I think there's a huge opportunity to kinda 01:06:33.230 --> 01:06:36.253 collaborate with the next level down, 01:06:36.420 --> 01:06:39.023 of using real data that's out in the field, 01:06:40.416 --> 01:06:43.523 and putting that through some analytics, 01:06:43.640 --> 01:06:47.230 and some data scientists, and through people who 01:06:47.490 --> 01:06:49.020 have never looked at this problem before, 01:06:49.020 --> 01:06:51.120 who might have a completely different perspective 01:06:51.120 --> 01:06:53.200 of what the real problems are and 01:06:53.200 --> 01:06:55.450 where the real bottlenecks in the system are. 01:06:56.870 --> 01:06:57.759 - I agree with you. 01:06:57.759 --> 01:06:59.200 I see some of that power right now. 01:06:59.200 --> 01:07:02.080 We've done a few small pilots, 01:07:02.080 --> 01:07:04.883 and it's interesting that folks who have never, 01:07:04.910 --> 01:07:06.210 don't even know what an engine is, 01:07:06.210 --> 01:07:08.440 and what they're able to come up with, 01:07:08.440 --> 01:07:09.763 in terms of the data. 01:07:10.070 --> 01:07:12.117 Things that we didn't look at, 01:07:12.117 --> 01:07:14.090 and we look at this stuff all the time. 01:07:14.090 --> 01:07:17.730 So I'm looking forward to have that more robust 01:07:17.730 --> 01:07:18.650 dialogue in the future. 01:07:18.650 --> 01:07:21.763 But I think that's just a step in that direction. 01:07:21.960 --> 01:07:24.850 And I know C.D. Moore, sir, you work a lot 01:07:24.970 --> 01:07:27.350 with industries and small businesses 01:07:27.350 --> 01:07:30.423 in this area, but from my perspective, 01:07:32.529 --> 01:07:33.829 there's so much out there. 01:07:33.910 --> 01:07:37.670 So I'm the government guy, and I'm looking at industry, 01:07:37.670 --> 01:07:38.720 and I'm looking at... 01:07:39.120 --> 01:07:41.940 It's almost going to the grocery story 01:07:42.070 --> 01:07:44.053 and there's 25 different brands of gum, 01:07:44.890 --> 01:07:46.533 so which kind of gum do I want. 01:07:47.000 --> 01:07:49.290 And I can stand there all day trying to figure it out. 01:07:49.290 --> 01:07:51.673 And by the way I really suck at analogies. 01:07:51.763 --> 01:07:53.262 (all laughing) 01:07:53.262 --> 01:07:54.450 But, you know, that's the best one 01:07:54.450 --> 01:07:56.300 I could come up with on short notice. 01:07:56.580 --> 01:07:58.893 When you're out there and you're doing this, 01:07:59.097 --> 01:08:01.590 what sort of things are you looking for, 01:08:01.590 --> 01:08:05.110 for either key attributes or discriminators 01:08:05.110 --> 01:08:06.163 to move forward? 01:08:06.460 --> 01:08:09.230 'Cause that's the area I think we still have work to do. 01:08:09.230 --> 01:08:11.903 What differentiates A from B from C? 01:08:12.730 --> 01:08:16.763 'Cause at a certain level, they all look the same, right. 01:08:17.960 --> 01:08:20.830 Any ideas, there, guys, as you look at this internally 01:08:20.830 --> 01:08:22.130 and you work through this? 01:08:22.410 --> 01:08:25.320 - I can venture a response at a kind of a macro level. 01:08:25.320 --> 01:08:26.283 - Yeah, perfect. 01:08:26.361 --> 01:08:30.900 - So, the consortium level, we maintain a matrix 01:08:31.400 --> 01:08:34.210 of all the technical capabilities of our members 01:08:34.990 --> 01:08:36.610 so that when something does come up 01:08:36.610 --> 01:08:37.880 a customer can come to us and say 01:08:37.880 --> 01:08:40.310 hey, can you handle X, Y, Z, or can you find me something 01:08:40.310 --> 01:08:41.860 to plug this hole, or whatever. 01:08:41.920 --> 01:08:43.500 And then we can go out that way. 01:08:43.500 --> 01:08:45.150 And it's kinda the same reverse engineering 01:08:45.150 --> 01:08:47.500 I talked about before where let us pulse our members 01:08:47.500 --> 01:08:49.022 and let them tell you what they see wrong 01:08:49.022 --> 01:08:50.973 and can fix easily or readily. 01:08:51.152 --> 01:08:53.980 But the difference, I think, in this is 01:08:55.550 --> 01:08:57.180 for us that's data collection, 01:08:57.180 --> 01:08:59.070 and it's not real hard, let me tell you. 01:08:59.070 --> 01:09:00.920 What's hard is getting members to respond 01:09:00.920 --> 01:09:02.710 and actually fill out the capabilities matrix 01:09:02.710 --> 01:09:03.700 in the first place, right. 01:09:03.700 --> 01:09:05.840 Because at the end of the day, who's it going to? 01:09:05.840 --> 01:09:07.570 It's going to some BD guy who's actually 01:09:07.570 --> 01:09:09.080 at a different networking event this week 01:09:09.080 --> 01:09:10.880 and he missed my email and he's just gonna blow it off 01:09:10.880 --> 01:09:12.729 so now we don't know that they can do machine language 01:09:12.729 --> 01:09:15.210 and then I'll end up bidding on a end of year 01:09:15.210 --> 01:09:17.740 fiscal obligation that we turned around 01:09:17.740 --> 01:09:19.793 in 21 days because why? 01:09:21.290 --> 01:09:24.880 He was getting free wine and crackers at the Tets, 01:09:24.880 --> 01:09:26.230 or something, I don't know. 01:09:26.840 --> 01:09:30.040 But I guess the point is don't be afraid 01:09:30.040 --> 01:09:32.240 to ask the questions, number one. 01:09:32.240 --> 01:09:34.740 Number two, I don't know that it's a completely 01:09:34.740 --> 01:09:38.910 solvable equation, because yeah there's capability, 01:09:38.910 --> 01:09:41.354 there's technical capability to get the job done, 01:09:41.354 --> 01:09:43.083 but isn't there also fit? 01:09:43.660 --> 01:09:45.550 There has to be an understanding of the environment 01:09:45.550 --> 01:09:47.340 in which your solution's gonna work. 01:09:47.340 --> 01:09:50.590 I think when you are able to ask that question 01:09:50.590 --> 01:09:52.442 of a pool of people who have the same 01:09:52.442 --> 01:09:55.960 technical capabilities but different life experiences 01:09:55.960 --> 01:09:59.070 as it's applied through the business arrangements 01:09:59.070 --> 01:10:01.320 that they've had, you get a different answer. 01:10:02.350 --> 01:10:05.940 You might find answers in all the wrong places 01:10:05.940 --> 01:10:07.740 but they're still the right answers. 01:10:08.983 --> 01:10:09.880 I don't know. 01:10:09.880 --> 01:10:10.880 - I definitely would second that. 01:10:10.880 --> 01:10:14.718 I think sometimes we 01:10:14.718 --> 01:10:16.117 have a lot of experience 01:10:16.117 --> 01:10:18.440 and we think we can sit in a conference room 01:10:18.440 --> 01:10:20.480 and come up with what we think the right answer is, 01:10:20.480 --> 01:10:23.870 right, but when you really wanna know how to cut costs 01:10:23.870 --> 01:10:25.960 on something, you got down on the shop floor 01:10:25.960 --> 01:10:29.370 and you ask the machinist, hey, what tolerance would you 01:10:29.370 --> 01:10:32.010 relieve on this part to make this part cheaper, 01:10:32.010 --> 01:10:33.713 and they'll instantly tell you. 01:10:34.480 --> 01:10:37.400 Part of the Digital Depot pilot, 01:10:37.400 --> 01:10:39.990 part of the benefit is our teams are integrated 01:10:39.990 --> 01:10:42.703 right together at the Depot, 01:10:43.000 --> 01:10:45.760 and they're talking about the problems, 01:10:45.760 --> 01:10:48.870 and we're letting the actual people on the ground 01:10:48.870 --> 01:10:52.423 kinda tell us and lead us to where the issues are. 01:10:52.570 --> 01:10:53.656 And if you can tell them hey, 01:10:53.656 --> 01:10:55.490 what piece of data do you need, 01:10:55.490 --> 01:10:59.803 or what part do you always think is a problem? 01:11:00.120 --> 01:11:02.893 That can lead us in some of these directions. 01:11:02.950 --> 01:11:03.783 - Great. 01:11:04.158 --> 01:11:06.116 - [Time Keeper] You have two minutes, 01:11:06.116 --> 01:11:09.866 if you wanna ask any members of the audience? 01:11:09.915 --> 01:11:10.748 - So are you guys okay with that? 01:11:10.748 --> 01:11:11.581 - I am. 01:11:11.581 --> 01:11:13.079 I would like to add one more little thing. 01:11:13.079 --> 01:11:13.912 - Sure. 01:11:13.912 --> 01:11:15.410 - 'Cause I think, this maybe will help with your 01:11:15.410 --> 01:11:16.334 analogy issue. 01:11:16.334 --> 01:11:17.210 - Thank you. 01:11:17.210 --> 01:11:20.113 - This is not a completely Air Force issue. 01:11:21.130 --> 01:11:24.253 Going back, I wanna say about eight years, 01:11:24.590 --> 01:11:27.190 so right around 2010, we were operating 01:11:27.190 --> 01:11:30.450 under an OTA for Homeland Defense. 01:11:30.450 --> 01:11:33.910 And the Army came to us and said hey, 01:11:33.910 --> 01:11:37.823 we have an urgent need, 01:11:38.010 --> 01:11:40.143 and it surrounds the perimeter, 01:11:40.600 --> 01:11:41.840 security, and force protection 01:11:41.840 --> 01:11:45.483 of our guys in the FOPS, in the sandbox. 01:11:45.970 --> 01:11:48.370 And we just don't know how to characterize 01:11:48.370 --> 01:11:50.800 this requirement, we don't know how to define it. 01:11:50.800 --> 01:11:51.883 Can you help us? 01:11:52.380 --> 01:11:55.720 So we convened a work group of members 01:11:55.720 --> 01:11:58.333 of the Consortium, about 20 of us, 01:11:58.440 --> 01:12:01.080 sat in a room for two days at Picatinny Arsenal. 01:12:01.080 --> 01:12:06.080 Which, by the way, does not even come close 01:12:06.090 --> 01:12:07.963 to Dayton, Daytona. 01:12:08.210 --> 01:12:09.800 Oh, wait, this is Dayton, not Daytona. 01:12:09.800 --> 01:12:10.633 Never mind. 01:12:10.840 --> 01:12:11.673 But anyhow. 01:12:12.150 --> 01:12:14.963 It's New Jersey, we'll leave it there. 01:12:15.062 --> 01:12:17.600 And at the end of the day we all came out 01:12:17.600 --> 01:12:19.410 with our little side assignments, right. 01:12:19.410 --> 01:12:22.363 So we kinda cordoned ourselves off into subgroups. 01:12:22.520 --> 01:12:23.730 Within a month we came back, 01:12:23.730 --> 01:12:25.170 presented them with a full-on proposal 01:12:25.170 --> 01:12:26.930 of what we think this whole FOP 01:12:26.930 --> 01:12:29.273 protection in a box package should look like, 01:12:29.910 --> 01:12:31.200 and they all fell off their chairs 01:12:31.200 --> 01:12:32.200 and said, "This is great." 01:12:32.200 --> 01:12:33.200 We lost our funding. 01:12:34.128 --> 01:12:36.590 But the point is they came and they asked, right. 01:12:36.590 --> 01:12:39.420 And industry, regardless of whether it was 01:12:39.420 --> 01:12:43.063 the SOSSEC Consortium, or AFSCIA, or whatever, right, 01:12:43.200 --> 01:12:45.040 can come together with industry partners 01:12:45.040 --> 01:12:47.113 to say yeah, I'll take a stab at that. 01:12:48.030 --> 01:12:50.250 Is it a shot in the dark with European P-dollars 01:12:50.250 --> 01:12:51.083 as a company? 01:12:51.083 --> 01:12:51.916 Yes. 01:12:52.330 --> 01:12:53.210 But aren't they all? 01:12:53.210 --> 01:12:55.437 I mean, if everything was wired we'd all be rich, right? 01:12:55.437 --> 01:12:56.810 That's not how it happens. 01:12:56.810 --> 01:12:58.683 That's not how competition occurs. 01:13:02.190 --> 01:13:03.090 Forget what it is, 01:13:06.000 --> 01:13:08.190 to the bold go the spoils, or something like that, right. 01:13:08.190 --> 01:13:11.444 So you gotta take that shot when you're 01:13:11.444 --> 01:13:13.040 on the industry side to say, you know, 01:13:13.040 --> 01:13:14.470 I think I've got a damn good idea 01:13:14.470 --> 01:13:15.770 and I'm just gonna say it. 01:13:15.920 --> 01:13:18.140 And the beauty of how this whole thing worked was, 01:13:18.140 --> 01:13:20.793 when we worked in our groups in this whole activity, 01:13:20.960 --> 01:13:22.650 no one held their cards close to their chest. 01:13:22.650 --> 01:13:23.900 Nobody was thinking about IP. 01:13:23.900 --> 01:13:27.043 They wanted to make sure the guys in the FOPS were safe. 01:13:27.610 --> 01:13:28.443 That's what it came down to. 01:13:28.443 --> 01:13:31.610 And I think the heartstrings of the industry side 01:13:31.610 --> 01:13:34.240 of this whole complex is exactly where it sits. 01:13:34.240 --> 01:13:35.310 We want people to be safe, 01:13:35.310 --> 01:13:37.127 we want people to be in reliable machines 01:13:37.127 --> 01:13:38.700 regardless of whether they fly 01:13:38.700 --> 01:13:40.070 or they roll or what have you. 01:13:40.070 --> 01:13:41.730 That's the end-all goal. 01:13:42.540 --> 01:13:43.373 - Okay, great. 01:13:43.373 --> 01:13:44.206 Thank you. 01:13:44.430 --> 01:13:46.680 We've got time to open it up to the audience. 01:13:48.030 --> 01:13:49.473 Okay, so any questions? 01:13:50.465 --> 01:13:52.545 - [Time Keeper] Just one or two minutes. 01:13:52.545 --> 01:13:53.378 - Yeah. 01:13:54.883 --> 01:13:59.133 (audience member speaking faintly) 01:14:09.670 --> 01:14:10.590 - That's a great idea. 01:14:10.590 --> 01:14:11.877 For those of you who couldn't hear it, 01:14:11.877 --> 01:14:13.530 the question was how can industry 01:14:13.530 --> 01:14:16.130 approach a consortium with ideas 01:14:16.130 --> 01:14:17.930 for requirements instead of just waiting 01:14:17.930 --> 01:14:20.763 for something to come across the transom on its own? 01:14:21.800 --> 01:14:23.340 I've always told our members 01:14:23.600 --> 01:14:25.820 there are two ways, really, that we see 01:14:25.820 --> 01:14:27.987 requirements coming through on an OTA. 01:14:28.820 --> 01:14:31.190 The first is that very organic kind of method 01:14:31.190 --> 01:14:32.880 where there is a program manager somewhere 01:14:32.880 --> 01:14:33.917 at the technical level who says, 01:14:33.917 --> 01:14:35.177 "Hey, I got X, Y, Z to solve, 01:14:35.177 --> 01:14:37.227 "let's go find a vehicle to get it done." 01:14:37.720 --> 01:14:40.270 And the other one is I got a customer, 01:14:40.270 --> 01:14:41.577 a member comes to us and says, 01:14:41.577 --> 01:14:43.050 "I got a customer with this issue." 01:14:43.050 --> 01:14:44.550 And they're not quite sure how to solve it. 01:14:44.550 --> 01:14:45.960 We're pretty sure we have a pretty good idea 01:14:45.960 --> 01:14:46.793 how to solve it. 01:14:46.820 --> 01:14:49.670 At the same time, they don't even know how to get to you. 01:14:49.699 --> 01:14:51.760 And then we bring them together, 01:14:51.760 --> 01:14:53.492 I introduce them to Lieutenant Montinary 01:14:53.492 --> 01:14:55.210 or Captain Laba and say, "Go at it." 01:14:55.210 --> 01:14:58.610 In the meantime, you have already been working with them. 01:14:58.610 --> 01:15:00.720 So at the risk of making it sound 01:15:00.720 --> 01:15:02.511 like it's something that could be wired, 01:15:02.511 --> 01:15:05.560 I'm here to tell you maybe back in the day 01:15:05.560 --> 01:15:06.430 that happened a whole lot, 01:15:06.430 --> 01:15:07.960 but it's not happening a whole lot anymore. 01:15:07.960 --> 01:15:10.040 What's happening is you're seeing the requirements 01:15:10.040 --> 01:15:11.930 from at least one industry partner's eyes, 01:15:11.930 --> 01:15:13.920 and the customer, but then you've got 01:15:13.920 --> 01:15:15.330 a lot more people piling on 01:15:15.330 --> 01:15:19.120 once it catches gear and really kicks in. 01:15:19.120 --> 01:15:20.360 So you'll see something that looks 01:15:20.360 --> 01:15:21.840 a lot like what you thought you said, 01:15:21.840 --> 01:15:23.280 but it might not be exactly what you said. 01:15:23.280 --> 01:15:24.680 That's one way to get to it. 01:15:25.138 --> 01:15:29.044 The other way would be unsolicited proposals. 01:15:29.044 --> 01:15:31.720 'Cause we have handled those on occasion as well. 01:15:31.720 --> 01:15:34.423 And the unique thing with consortia, 01:15:34.760 --> 01:15:38.050 and I'm sure we're all different to some degree 01:15:38.050 --> 01:15:39.600 from an operational standpoint. 01:15:39.670 --> 01:15:41.600 If a member comes to us with an unsolicited proposal, 01:15:41.600 --> 01:15:44.090 we'll shop it to all of our vehicles where it's applicable. 01:15:44.090 --> 01:15:44.923 No problem. 01:15:45.060 --> 01:15:47.200 That's why I think we're employed. 01:15:47.200 --> 01:15:49.140 And if that's not why you have us 01:15:49.140 --> 01:15:50.810 as a consortium, then I'm not sure even 01:15:50.810 --> 01:15:52.670 why you guys would want one that 01:15:52.670 --> 01:15:54.370 doesn't do that for their members. 01:15:57.600 --> 01:15:59.370 - So, we still have time for, 01:15:59.370 --> 01:16:00.460 I think, for one more question. 01:16:00.460 --> 01:16:01.393 Or are we done? 01:16:02.040 --> 01:16:03.090 I'm getting the kill. 01:16:05.060 --> 01:16:06.560 Thank you, by the way, for letting me know. 01:16:06.560 --> 01:16:07.610 So thank you, panel members. 01:16:07.610 --> 01:16:08.703 I appreciate it. 01:16:08.764 --> 01:16:10.720 Thanks for your patience and being able to 01:16:10.720 --> 01:16:12.370 handle some questions on the fly. 01:16:12.850 --> 01:16:14.650 Appreciate your passion, by the way. 01:16:14.700 --> 01:16:16.520 I know everyone in this room is 01:16:16.520 --> 01:16:17.690 passionate about propulsion, 01:16:17.690 --> 01:16:20.270 and we wanna continue to be the world leaders 01:16:20.270 --> 01:16:22.820 in propulsion, and that's my goal, actually, 01:16:22.820 --> 01:16:25.037 from a USAF Director perspective 01:16:25.037 --> 01:16:26.537 and how we're pushing forward. 01:16:26.670 --> 01:16:28.070 So again, thank you for your time, 01:16:28.070 --> 01:16:30.140 thank you for your responses, 01:16:30.140 --> 01:16:31.460 your passion, and your patience. 01:16:31.460 --> 01:16:32.333 So thanks again. 01:16:32.791 --> 01:16:34.551 (audience applauds)