Defense Watch: Esper/JEDI, Aid To Ukraine, Navy Learning

摘要

Esper/JEDI. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper is not close to a decision on his review of the potential $10 billion JEDI cloud program, a top Pentagon spokesperson told reporters on September 9. Esper is currently getting caught up on the particulars of the program, according to DoD spokesperson Jonathan Hoffman, as he assesses the controversial cloud effort which has faced criticism for its single-award competition and accusations of conflicts of interest. “He’s been taking a long look at it just to understand the program. He’s done a couple sessions. I think we have another one scheduled this week,” Hoffman said. “I don’t believe he’s close to making a decision. His goal on this is to get it right. It’s an important capability that we need, the ability to have a cloud-based system, as well as having the ability to develop AI. So he wants to get it right, but he hasn’t put a timeline on it.” Esper announced last month he would review the program which had been working towards a likely contract award at the end of August.