Stackley: Navy Needs to Develop Weapons Faster, Congress Should Rollback Restrictive Legislation - USNI News: The Navy’s chief weapons buyer called on Congress to rollback restrictive legislation that creates unnecessary bureaucracy and slows the development of next-generation military capabilities during a Wednesday appearance at the Atlantic Council.
Sean Stackley, Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development & Acquisition (RDA), said legislation —like the 2011 Budget Control Act (BCA) — makes it difficult to plan effectively for future programs by denying the military clear funding paths forward.
“We really don’t need more legislation, we don’t,” he said.
“I know any legislation we get is going to beget more bureaucracy which will have the exact opposite affect from what was desired.”
Stackley only mentioned the BCA specifically, but hinted other legislative restrictions on military acquisition slowed the Department of the Navy’s (DoN) development of new capabilities to counter the rapid technological development of potential adversaries.
“It’s unacceptable that the development cycle of our major programs has evolved into a long drawn out series of development, design, build, test and deliver phases that left of its own accord is unable to keep pace with the threat that has demonstrated our vulnerabilities and [continue] to do so in rapid fashion,” he said.
“Other navies are making significant investment in their warfighting capabilities such that the maritime superiority that the U.S. has long maintained can not be assumed in the decades ahead.”
