Using State of the Practice Digital Electronic Systems Engineering To Make DoD EW Systems afford to Operate and Sustain, and Agile to Modernize and the Speed of Relevance

The Government Accountability Office Report GAO-23-106222, “Leading Practices: Iterative Cycles Enable Rapid Delivery of Complex, Innovative Products”, has resulted in the following section in the FY 25 NDAA: Title VIII Digital Twinning for Acquisition Category 1 Major Defense Acquisition Programs The committee notes the upside to developing digital electronic systems engineering (DESE) and electronic system hardware accurate digital twins. Several Department of Defense funded pilot projects have shown promise for sustainment benefits from digital twinning can be applied at any point during the weapon systems lifecycle. These pilot projects have also shown that the Department has this capability for developing electronic systems hardware accurate digital twinning. Therefore, the committee is encouraged by the Department’s ability to learn from these pilot projects. Therefore, the committee directs the Secretary of Defense to provide a briefing to the House Committee on Armed Services not later than March 1, 2025, on Acquisition Category 1 Major Defense Acquisition Programs utilization of digital twinning. The briefing should include plans and resourcing for both the Department and performer workforce in digital electronic systems engineering and digital twinning. Sadly, a majority Defense Industrial Base, FFRDCs, UARCs , and SETAs are not familiar with state of the practice digital electronic systems engineering (DESE) practices. This presentation educates the audience to the acquisition, operational, sustainment, and modernization benefits from using DESE and the  DoD in-house capabilities to support the use of DESE, the acquisition, operational, sustainment, and modernization benefits from the use of DESE, and how to implement DESE in all DoD EW programs.