Affordability of Defense Acquisition Programs
Abstract
Assuring affordability for Department of Defense (DOD) acquisition programs has been an enduring goal that has seldom been achieved. The consequences are cancelling or curtailing programs that turn out to be unaffordable, with much attendant waste. That danger is even greater when DOD budgets are declining. This study concluded that DOD lacks coherent, disciplined processes for assessing and assuring more affordable investment programs. Furthermore, affordability cannot be effectively addressed at acquisition milestone reviews it must be addressed in an issue paper in the DOD Program Review process. Without that context, DOD acquisition executives cannot make informed decisions about affordability at milestone reviews. The Defense Program Projection (DPP) is a long-term fiscal and force planning tool that is valuable in assessing acquisition affordability; however, in recent years it has seen little use for that purpose. This paper recommends (1) revitalizing the DPP as an Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD)-directed project that is systematically updated and (2) using the DPP in the each Program Review process to address the affordability of the overall DOD acquisition program. The Defense Acquisition Board should draw on the DPP and the latest affordability issue paper at each acquisition milestone to provide a context for decisions regarding affordability.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Feb 01, 2015
- Accession Number
- ADA620059
Entities
People
- Alan H. Shaw
- Brian Q. Rieksts
- C. V. Gordon
- David M. Tate
- Gene H. Porter
- Kathleen M. Conley
- R. R. Kneece Jr.
Organizations
- Institute for Defense Analyses