The Department of Defense received over 300 responses to its request for information issued in April on weapons systems and other commercial capabilities as part of efforts to meet Ukraine’s requests for security assistance amid Russian invasion, Defense News reported Friday.
William LaPlante, undersecretary for acquisition and sustainment at DOD, said the influx of responses will help meet strategic objectives, accelerate production lines and mitigate supply chain challenges.
“We did put out a request for information about two weeks ago, in different categories of timeframes 30 days, 60 days, 90 days to industry, and what they could provide. We’ve received and are looking at well over 300 proposals, and we’re going through those right now in this book,” LaPlante, a 2022 Wash100 Award winner, said Friday during a press briefing.
Of the $300 million in funding for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, LaPlante said the Pentagon has obligated $181.8 million, including a $17.8 million contract that DOD planned to award to AeroVironment for its Switchblade unmanned aircraft system.
