Defense urged to develop software for warfighting systems quicker

The Defense Department must change the way it develops software systems to get programs and tools to "the corporal on the street" in a matter of days, rather than on the current multiyear cycle, Marine Gen. James Cartwright, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said during a speech in Northern Virginia on Wednesday.

Insurgents in Iraq develop improvised explosive devices in 30 days, and the U.S. military must be able to adapt to that cycle, Cartwright told participants at Naval IT Day, sponsored by the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association. He said software and code development required for warfighting systems must happen "on the edge," or in the field, not at headquarters, where it takes years to mature.

Cartwright said the current process is designed to make people in headquarters feel confident that the tools they are developing will work, but it fails to address the fast- moving requirements of cyber fighting.

"We are building software code and tools based on the aircraft carrier development cycle," he said, rather than cyberspace.

Cartwright did not offer any immediate solution to the ponderous and antiquated software development cycle, but he said it's a challenge he is passionate about -- one that he wants industry and Defense Department users to help resolve.