Defense firms unhappy with proposed rule change

The Department of Defense is considering a new rule that could limit how defense contractors use federal research money.

The Pentagon reimburses major defense companies including Boeing and Raytheon for what they spend working on potential new military technologies. Those expenses are called independent R&D (IRAD) costs.

In recent years, with agency budgets tight across the government, the department has sought to control how much it is spending on IRAD. The latest development is a proposed rule issued on 7 November that would require companies to talk to the Pentagon about their IRAD plans.