The recently-confirmed Pentagon official in charge of testing and evaluating weapons programs for the entire U.S. military recused himself from any cases involving the number one American defense contractor Lockheed Martin, Bloomberg reported on Thursday.
Douglas Schmidt, Director of Operational Test and Evaluation (OTE), said he could not personally involve himself in rendering appraisals on Lockheed Martin programs ahead of a House subcommittee hearing on fixed-wing fighters, including Lockheed’s star F-35 Lightning III fighter, on April 16. While he was never on Lockheed’s payroll, typical of the problematic “revolving door” phenomenon when people hop back and forth between Department of Defense (DOD) organizations and defense industry groups, Schmidt did serve as an expert witness for a law firm representing Lockheed’s Sikorsky Aircraft arm in 2022, he told Bloomberg.
The Pentagon said “we do not anticipate any impact” to OTE’s mission or projects in a statement to Bloomberg. (RELATED: Air Force Chief Admits To Matt Gaetz That Lockheed Martin Basically Controls F-35 Fighter Jet Program)
OTE evaluations weigh heavily in the Pentagon’s decision making process regarding the timing and amount of funding that goes toward the program under scrutiny, according to Bloomberg.
One of the most important programs under OTE’s purview is the F-35, the Pentagon’s most expensive weapons program and a cornerstone of Lockheed’s business with the DOD.
Lockheed has consistently ranked as the top defense contractor in terms of yearly revenue, according to Defense News’ annual Top 100 list.
“I would like to bring to your attention that I must recuse myself from answering or providing information on Lockheed Martin products and systems,” he wrote on the last page of his written testimony to the House Armed Services Committee.
In 2022, the Army granted a competitor firm, Bell Textron Inc., a $7 billion contract to work on a replacement for the Black Hawk helicopter program. Sikorsky lodged a protest with the Government Accountability Office (GAO) over the award and brought Schmidt on to serve as an expert witness in the case, he told Bloomberg in an interview. The GAO in the end sided with Bell.
Schmidt said Sikorsky tasked him to “take a look at their proposal and evaluate” the software development approach, according to Bloomberg.
“I’m not even sure if it was ever filed in the case,” he told Bloomberg.
A U.S. Marine Corps Capt. Tyler Bonnett an F-35B Lightning II instructor pilot with VMX-1 receives hand and arm signals upon return during initial operational testing and evaluation at Edwards Air Force Base, California, June 30, 2020. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Larisa Chavez)
He previously informed Democratic Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a top lawmaker on the Senate Armed Services Committee, that he planned to hold off from assessing Lockheed programs, according to Bloomberg.
In a letter, he agreed to adhere to Warren’s demands to abstain from employment by a defense contractor whose products he would be responsible for evaluating for at least two years after his term as OTE director ends, Breaking Defense reported.
“I share your commitment to maintaining the public’s trust in the Department of Defense. If confirmed, I will always place the good of our country, the reputation of the Department, and the men and women in uniform above all other interests,” Schmidt wrote to Warren, according to the outlet.
The Senate unanimously confirmed Schmidt’s nomination in late February via voice vote, and he was sworn in on April 8.
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