La subsecretaria de Defensa de EE.UU. defendi\u00f3 su iniciativa de adquirir armas aut\u00f3nomas en la conferencia sobre tecnolog\u00edas emergentes para la defensa de la NDIA . Kathleen Hicks dedic\u00f3 su discurso inaugural a defender Replicator \u2014su iniciativa emblem\u00e1tica de hace un a\u00f1o para comprar miles de armas aut\u00f3nomas asequibles y \u201catractivas\u201d \u2014 y a\u00f1adi\u00f3 un mensaje nada sutil al Congreso para que deje de ser tan esc\u00e9ptico con la iniciativa y empiece a ayudar de verdad.<\/p>\n
WASHINGTON \u2014 The\u00a0Deputy Secretary of Defense<\/a>\u00a0took the stage to defend herself this morning here at the\u00a0NDIA emerging technologies for defense conference<\/a>.\u00a0Kathleen Hicks<\/a>\u00a0devoted her opening speech to making the case for Replicator \u2014 her year-old signature initiative to buy thousands of affordable and \u201cattritable\u201d\u00a0autonomous weapons<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 and added a none-too-subtle nudge to Congress to stop being so skeptical of the initiative and start actually helping.<\/p>\n \u201cNow, we couldn\u2019t do this without Congress,\u201d Hicks acknowledged as she reached the end of her speech. We\u2019re grateful for their bipartisan, bicameral support, across both authorizers and appropriators. \u2026 Do not take it for granted.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut,\u201d she went on, her tone hardening, \u201cif this country is going to transform its defense at the speed and scale we need, Congressional trust will need to substantially expand.\u201d<\/p>\n On Replicator specifically, \u201cwe\u2019ve done nearly 40 Hill briefings since last October, averaging about one a week,\u201d she said. \u201cThat\u2019s on\u00a0an initiative that represents 0.059 percent of DoD\u2019s budget. That depth of engagement isn\u2019t scalable for Congress across the breadth of what we\u2019re trying to accomplish.\u201d<\/p>\n Congress also needs to back off\u00a0of the related but distinct\u00a0Rapid Defense Experimentation Reserve<\/a>\u00a0(RDER), Hicks said. This comes less than a week after\u00a0Senate appropriators<\/a>\u00a0suggested RDER should be cut and funds moved to Replicator, which prompted a\u00a0rare public rebuttal<\/a>\u00a0from Pentagon R&D chief Heidi Shyu, arguing that RDER played a vital role in vetting new tech that Replicator could then buy in bulk.<\/p>\n Hicks echoed that argument today. \u201cWe need efforts like RDER that bring rigor to our discernment of what is and isn\u2019t ready to scale,\u201d she said. \u201cFor instance, because of RDER\u2019s successful transitions to programs of record, the Marine Corps\u2019 Family of Integrated Targeting Cells for joint fires was accelerated by five years.\u201d<\/p>\n RDER also helped lay the foundation for Replicator by blazing a trail for innovation initiatives in general, Hicks added in a one-on-one discussion with retired House Armed Services chairman\u00a0Mac Thornbery<\/a>. While Hicks announced her initiative just a year ago, \u201cReplicator really builds on things we started early on. I mentioned RDER,\u201d she told him, which is a big part of how \u201cwe blaze through experimentation to get systems validated and out the door.\u201d<\/p>\n That nuanced distinction between RDER and Replicator is actual an important part of Hicks\u2019 defense of her own initiative. Replicator is not about developing brand-new technology: It\u2019s about taking cutting-edge but proven tech and rapidly ramping up production to militarily meaningful amounts.<\/p>\n Consider Replicator\u2019s biggest announcement to date, the purchase (and\u00a0probable fielding<\/a>) of\u00a0Switchblade 600<\/a>\u00a0loitering munitions\/kamikaze drones. Switchblade variants are hardly new \u2014 the\u00a0company<\/a>\u00a0touts their\u00a0battlefield successes<\/a>\u00a0in Ukraine \u2014 and the\u00a0Army<\/a>\u00a0was already getting ready to buy them. Critics see those facts and argue Replicator is redundant, piggybacking on others\u2019 successes. But in Hicks\u2019 construct, adding oomph to good ideas already in progress is precisely the point.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the services, you will see ADA2 [all-domain, attritable and autonomous] systems embedded in regular order in the next budget,\u201d she said. The Army and Air Force are creating relevant acquisition programs of record, while the Navy is streamlining\u00a0Commercial Service Openings<\/a>\u00a0(CSOs).<\/p>\n Another criticism of Replicator is that it just hasn\u2019t done that much yet. The Switchblade buy is the only purchase publicly announced to date, although several other technologies are reportedly at work in secrecy. Hicks spent much of her time today trying to counter that charge, listing accomplishments the initiative has made in the months since its official launch. While Replicator has not bought a lot of weapons yet, she argued it has created new processes, gotten industry to invest, done due diligence on cybersecurity and generally built the runway for procurement to now take off.<\/p>\n \u201cWe created a process to review and strengthen the cybersecurity of companies that support Replicator, before we publicize specific systems or vendor names,\u201d Hicks said. \u201cWe\u2019ve seen manufacturers planning to double or triple production capacity. Some already have, recognizing our demand signals. \u2026 Over 550 hardware and software companies have sent submissions to Replicator-related CSOs. Some don\u2019t even know they\u2019re about Replicator.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve also obligated both R&D and procurement dollars, totaling in the nine-figures already, to a range of traditional defense industry and non-traditional companies,\u201d she went on. (\u201cObligated\u201d means contracts have been signed but the money has not yet been spent). \u201cIn some cases, we made competitive awards just three-to-four months after funds were appropriated \u2014 that\u2019s about 66 percent shorter than the typical DoD contracting time.\u201d<\/p>\n Overall, \u201cwe are on track to meet Replicator\u2019s original goal of \u2018multiple thousands in multiple domains in 18-24 months,\u2019\u00a0that is, by end of August 2025,\u201d Hicks said. \u201cIf we can move at this speed and scale now, do this much in under a year, imagine how much faster we could move next year, and the year after \u2014 let alone what our speed will be if we\u2019re ever called to fight.\u201d<\/p>\n