Lessons Learned from the Logistics Support for Commercial Off the Shelf U.S. Air Force Equipment

Abstract

Little documentation exists on the role of supporting commercial off the shelf (COTS) systems bought by the Air Force. Current USAF policy does not address the dynamic nature of buying and supporting COTS systems. The logistics support challenges associated with COTS equipment were explored through telephone interviews with USAF managers. The focus of this study is on the lessons learned by planning logistics support for COTS before, during, and after the enactment of the Defense Acquisition Improvement Act of 1986. Recommendations were made to (1) not fully provision COTS programs, (2) not convert commercial manuals to T.O.s, (3) streamline the acquisition process for COTS systems, (4) buy COTS systems in larger quantities to enjoy the savings from larger economies of scale, and (5) buy all engineering (type III) drawings when the COTS system is integrated with GFE (such as COMSEC equipment).

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Sep 01, 1990
Accession Number
ADA229247

Entities

People

  • Charles L. Clayton

Organizations

  • Air Force Institute of Technology

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Ground and Sea Platforms
  • Human Systems
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Air Force Equipment
  • Air Force Facilities
  • Aircrafts
  • Business Administration
  • Command And Control
  • Employment
  • Lessons Learned
  • Logistics
  • Maintenance
  • Management Personnel
  • Military Acquisition
  • Military Equipment
  • Personnel Management
  • Test Equipment
  • War Colleges
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Defense Acquisition Program Management
  • Economics
  • Naval Mine Countermeasure Systems Development.