Transportability in the Defense Department Research, Development, and Acquisition Process
Abstract
There is inherent tension between the goals of greater effectiveness for Department of Defense (DoD) equipment, systems, and weaponry on the one hand, and greater ease (or reduced cost) of transport on the other. To put it differently, greater combat effectiveness in the theater usually carries with it increases in weight, size, and other parameters affecting transportability adversely. Tradeoffs between these desirable goals somehow must be made, and DoD devotes considerable attention to them. Unlike such choices in the private sector, however, the DoD Research, Development, and Acquisition (RDA) process is not constrained in important ways to make design decisions reflecting the preferences of the ultimate users of the equipment. In part, this is due to the absence of a profit motive; in part, it is due to the much greater complexity inherent in the identity of the users. Because of this feature of the RDA process-a relative weakness in the decision voice of users examination of tradeoffs tends to be replaced by imposition of a series of physical constraints. In the transportability context, the constraints are defined in terms of the physical characteristics of the existing or prospective transport system or assets.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1991
- Accession Number
- ADA253096
Entities
People
- Benjamin Zycher
- David Morton
Organizations
- RAND Corporation