Improve Defense Acquisition: Focus on the Activities that Span Key Processes

Abstract

The Defense Acquisition System must be improved to better enable transformation. Over the past 2 to 3 years, many programs that are critical to the Department of Defense (DoD) and Army transformation efforts have experienced significant cost and schedule overruns, while simultaneously being plagued by serious performance shortfalls. In their March 2004 assessment of major weapons programs, the GAO cited several programs in the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps that are experiencing difficulty. The list includes such programs as the Army's Future Combat System, the Navy's DD(X), the Air Force F/A-22 Raptor, and the Marine Corps V-22 Osprey. The purpose of this research project is to provide insight into the nature of the problem and to suggest actions that could be taken within the existing framework to reverse negative cost, schedule, and performance trends of major programs across DoD and the Army. The author examines improving the Defense Acquisition System from a system of systems perspective. The focus is on activities that span key processes in the Joint Capabilities Integration Development System, the Planning Programming and Budgeting System, DoD Experimentation, and DoD Science and Technology Initiatives. Over the past 5-10 years, there has been a major effort by the DoD and the Army to reform, and now to transform, the Defense Acquisition System. The aim is admirable and seemingly very clear and simple: get required capabilities to the nation's warfighters faster, cheaper, and better. To that end, a great deal has been done in the past 3 years alone, particularly in light of the Secretary of Defense, Deputy Secretary of Defense, and Chief of Staff of the Army guidance to get equipment into warfighters' hands sooner than later, even if it means sacrificing performance at times. The theme appears to be that new and improved technology will not help if it is not available to U.S. forces when needed.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 18, 2005
Accession Number
ADA431870

Entities

People

  • David E. Lockhart

Organizations

  • United States Army War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • C4I
  • Human Systems
  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Acquisition
  • Air Force
  • Business Administration
  • Congress
  • Governments
  • House Of Representatives
  • Information Systems
  • Military Acquisition
  • Military Science
  • National Security
  • Radio Equipment
  • Risk Analysis
  • Systems Engineering
  • Test And Evaluation
  • Unified Combatant Commands
  • War Colleges
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Defense Acquisition Program Management
  • Maritime Combat Support and Expeditionary Logistics.
  • Systems Analysis and Design