The Laird-Packard Way: Unpacking Defense Acquisition Policy

Abstract

Within liberal democracies, the weapons soldiers carry into battle determines the fate of nations, but the resources needed to build specific weapons must be allocated by elected representatives of the people years or even decades before a war or conflict begins. Therefore, to increase the odds of victory in future war, it is the responsibility of senior military leaders to learn how to fight two different types of battles, both on the battlefield (the art of waging war itself) and the battle that occurs within the realm of defense acquisition (the battle before the battle). This research intends to focus on the latter form of battlethe battles that occur within the realm of defense acquisition. This paper contends that the study of David Packard, the co-founder of electronics firm giant Hewlett-Packard (HP) and one of the founding fathers of Silicon Valley, is essential for those who seek to understand better the realm of defense acquisition (the battles before the battle). David Packard served as deputy secretary of defense between January 1969 and December 1971, significantly influencing modern defense acquisition policy and playing a critical role in the birth of fourth-generation airpower. This research focuses on the lessons learned from Packards experience, some developmental programs in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and the impact of those programs on Packards acquisition reform movement. Specific programs visited include the C-5, F-111, F-14, B-1, the A-X Competition, the Lightweight Fighter (LWF) Competition (YF-16, YF-17), and the Advanced Medium Short Take-off and Landing (STOL) Transport (AMST) Competition (YC-14, YC-15). Packards three prototyping competitions, the A-X, AMST, and LWF, resulted in the rise of the A-10, F-16, F/A-18, and C-17.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 01, 2020
Accession Number
AD1097716

Entities

People

  • Brian M. Fredrickson

Organizations

  • Air Command and Staff College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • C4I
  • Counter WMD
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Ground and Sea Platforms
  • Human Systems
  • Space
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Aerial Warfare
  • Aircraft Equipment
  • Aircraft Industry
  • Aircrafts
  • Airframes
  • Contingency Operations (Military)
  • Fighter Aircraft
  • Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles
  • International Organizations
  • Management Personnel
  • Military Aviation
  • Military History
  • Military Science
  • National Security
  • Recreation
  • Test And Evaluation
  • War Colleges

Readers

  • Aerospace Engineering
  • Defense Technology Research and Development.
  • Military History / Militaries and War Studies

Technology Areas

  • Microelectronics