Space Force General Wants ‘More Aggressive’ Acquisition Reforms
Feb. 13, 2025 | By Greg Hadley
The acting head of space acquisition wants to double down on changes instituted by Frank Calvelli, who vacated the job Jan. 20, pledging stricter accountability not only for contractors but program managers, as well.
Maj. Gen. Stephen G. Purdy, military deputy to the assistant secretary of the Air Force for space acquisition and integration, is leading the office until a new political appointee is in place. But he’s holding fast to Calvelli’s acquisition tenets, devised from his long experience developing space programs at the NRO. Calvelli pressed the Space Force to buy smaller satellites and load them with as much commercial technology as possible to accelerate timelines. He also favored fixed-price contracts.
“The plan that we have is to continue the Calvelli tenets,” Purdy said at the National Security Space Association’s conference this week. “If anything, think of us continuing those efforts, but doing it more aggressively.”
Calvelli was open about his frustrations with both industry’s and USSF’s approach to acquisition, and promoted lessons learned on the job at NRO—especially the “relentless pursuit of program management discipline.”
https://www.airandspaceforces.com/space-force-more-aggressively-acquisition-reform/
