Defense Secretary Ash Carter warned on Tuesday that the Senate’s plan to split the Pentagon acquisition chief’s responsibilities into two jobs could have repercussions similar to those of the problem-plagued F-35 program.
“Separating research and engineering from manufacturing could introduce problems in the transition from the former to the latter, which is a frequent stumbling block for programs,” Carter said at the Navy League Sea-Air-Space Exposition outside Washington. “One need only remember Joint Strike Fighter’s growing pains in moving from engineering and manufacturing design and low-rate initial production.”
The Senate, in its mark up of the fiscal 2017 National Defense Authorization Act, proposed to split the undersecretary for acquisition, technology and logistics into two jobs: one focusing solely on bringing more innovation to the Pentagon and the other focused on the business side. Carter, who previously held the undersecretary position, warned that problems could arise in the transition.
Carter also said he would recommend a veto of the bill, which the president has already threatened, due to the House version’s plan to move $18 billion from the war funding account to the baseline.
“If a final version of the NDAA reaches the president this year … and rejects key judgments of the department, I will be compelled to recommend that he veto the bill,” Carter said. He called the House’s markup “deeply troubling” and “flawed for several reasons.”
Carter also spoke about the urgency for the U.S. military to be able to react to a “full spectrum conflict.” Russia, Asia Pacific, China, North Korea, Iran and terrorism top the secretary’s list of threats against the U.S.
When it comes to the Navy’s budget, he said overall war-fighting posture is at the heart of its proposal. Carter stressed to the Navy League audience the importance of making the Navy “more capable, more survivable, and more lethal” for a variety of conflicts.
