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Advanced / Transformational Technology

Hicks Lauds RDER Effort In Speeding Program Transitions

By Cal Biesecker

Wednesday, August 7th, 2024

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Hicks Lauds RDER Effort In Speeding Program Transitions

Heidi Shyu, Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering

New approaches to quickly assessing joint warfighting capabilities are proving themselves and enabling more rapid acquisitions of systems, Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks said on Wednesday. Her remarks were a firm push back to Congress, in particular to Senate appropriators, who last week said the Defense Department’s Rapid Defense Experimentation Reserve (RDER) is not meaningfully leading to accelerated acquisitions of systems or their fielding (Defense Daily, Aug. 5). RDER was established three years ago to quickly assess promising prototypes…

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