Download or read book Cost Overruns in Major Weapon Systems Current Dimensions of a Longstanding Problem written by and published by . This book was released on 1983 with total page 57 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Cost overruns continue to plague the weapon systems acquisition process, despite repeated efforts over the last twenty years to alleviate the problem. This paper reviews the initiatives of the Reagan Administration to control cost overruns during the last 2-1/2 years and the actions taken by the Congress to strengthen its oversight role Particular attention is directed at the critical need to enhance management incentive and account- ability at all levels of the acquisition process. If recently instituted reforms in the Department of Defense fail to control cost overruns, pressure may grow for a more sweeping and radical approach. Serious consideration, in such an event, might even be given to removing responsibility for weapons acquisition management from the military services and assigning it to a civilian-operated supply agency.
Download or read book DOD Needs to Provide More Credible Weapon Systems Cost Estimates to the Congress written by United States. General Accounting Office and published by . This book was released on 1984 with total page 132 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Implosion written by L. Parker Temple and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2012-11-27 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Implosion is a focused study of the history and uses of high-reliability, solid-state electronics, military standards, and space systems that support our national security and defense. This book is unique in combining the interdependent evolution of and interrelationships among military standards, solid-state electronics, and very high-reliability space systems. Starting with a brief description of the physics that enabled the development of the first transistor, Implosion covers the need for standardizing military electronics, which began during World War II and continues today. The book shows how these twin topics affected, and largely enabled, the highest reliability and most technologically capable robotic systems ever conceived. This riveting history helps readers: Realize the complex interdependence of solid-state electronics and practical implementations in the national security and defense space programs Understand the evolution of military standards for piece parts, quality, and reliability as they affected these programs Gain insight into the attempted reforms of federal systems acquisition of security- and defense-related space systems in the latter half of the twentieth century Appreciate the complexity of science and technology public policy decisions in the context of political, organizational, and economic realities Written in clear, jargon-free language, but with plenty of technical detail, Implosion is a must-read for aerospace and aviation engineers, manufacturers, and enthusiasts; technology students and historians; and anyone interested in the history of technology, military technology, and the space program.
Download or read book Tools to Prevent Defense Department Cost Overruns written by United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, Federal Services, and International Security and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 168 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Major Studies and Issue Briefs of the Congressional Research Service written by and published by . This book was released on 1989 with total page 408 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Sources of Weapon System Cost Growth written by Joseph George Bolten and published by Rand Corporation. This book was released on 2008 with total page 117 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Previous studies have shown that the Department of Defense (DoD) and the military departments have historically underestimated the cost of new weapon systems. Quantifying cost growth is important, but the larger issue is why cost growth occurs. To address that issue, this analysis uses data from Selected Acquisition Reports to examine 35 mature, but not necessarily complete, major defense acquisition programs similar to the type and complexity of those typically managed by the Air Force. The programs are first examined as a complete set, then Air Force and non-Air Force programs are analyzed separately to determine whether the causes of cost growth in the two groups differ. Four major sources of cost growth were identified: (1) errors in estimation and scheduling, (2) decisions made by the government, (3) financial matters, and (4) miscellaneous sources. Total (development plus procurement) cost growth, when measured as simple averages among the program set, is dominated by decisions, which account for more than two-thirds of the growth. Most decisions-related cost growth involves quantity changes (22 percent), requirements growth (13 percent), and schedule changes (9 percent). Cost estimation (10 percent) is the only large contributor in the errors category. Less than 4 percent of the overall cost growth is due to financial and miscellaneous causes. Because decisions involving changes in requirements, quantities, and production schedules dominate cost growth, program managers, service leadership, and Congress should look for ways to reduce changes in these areas.
Download or read book An Analysis of Weapon System Cost Growth written by and published by . This book was released on 1993 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Cost growth in weapon system development, one result of the inherent risk of developing advanced systems, has been a prevalent problem for many years. A systematic bias in cost estimates can undermine the basis of resource allocation decisions, an important problem in a tight budget environment. Currently DoD is in this situation. This exploratory research attempts to gain new insight into this old acquisition issue. In particular, our objectives were to quantify the magnitude of cost growth in weapon systems, and identify factors affecting cost growth. A better understanding of the scope of the cost growth problem would provide decisionmakers with an improved basis for mitigating cost growth. Insight into the drivers of cost growth might suggest policy alternatives appropriate to the goal of mitigating cost growth. This research uses a database composed of 197 major weapon systems reporting through the Selected Acquisition Report (SAR) process as of December 1990 to address these issues. While we have quantified the magnitude of weapon system cost growth along a number of dimensions, we could not definitively account for the observed cost growth patterns. Thus, no silver bullet policy option is available for mitigating cost growth.
Download or read book Defense Reform and Technology written by Serge Herzog and published by Praeger. This book was released on 1994-05-30 with total page 232 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: To capture the defense reform debate surrounding the proper application of high technology in military systems, this study focuses on tactical aircraft, an area epitomizing cutting-edge technology. Air combat history is revisited (including the 1991 Persian Gulf War) to confirm, reject, or qualify positions advocating certain technologies in tactical aviation. Emphasis is placed on enduring combat ideas and aircraft design principles. The interaction between mission requirements, inventory composition, and aircraft design is discussed to illustrate the dynamics of constrained choice that enters acquisition decisions. The relevance of reform arguments in the post-Cold War era is assessed, including the impact of political and economic constraints on future force-mix options, the shift from NATO-centered contingencies to Third World Low Intensity Conflict (LIC), and the threat of conventional arms proliferation.
Download or read book Major Studies Issue Briefs of the Congressional Research Service written by and published by . This book was released on 1989 with total page 408 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Historical Cost Growth of Completed Weapon System Programs written by and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This report is one of a series from a RAND Project AIR FORCE project, "The Cost of Future Military Aircraft: Historical Cost Estimating Relationships and Cost Reduction Initiatives." The report complements another document from this project, "Impossible Certainty: Cost Risk Analysis for Air Force Systems," and includes a literature review of cost growth studies and a more extensive analysis of the historical cost growth in acquisition programs than appears in the companion report. Overall, most of the studies reviewed reported that actual costs were greater than estimates of baseline costs. The most common metric used to measure cost growth is the cost growth factor (CGF), which is defined as the ratio of the actual cost to the estimated costs. A CGF of less than 1.0 indicates that the estimate was higher than the actual cost -- an underrun. When the CGF exceeds 1.0, the actual costs were higher than the estimate -- an overrun. Studies of weapon system cost growth have mainly relied on data from Selected Acquisition Reports (SARs). These reports are prepared annually by all major defense acquisition program (MDAP) offices within the military services to provide the U.S. Congress with cost, schedule, and performance status. The comparison baseline (estimate) typically corresponds to a major acquisition decision milestone. Prior studies have reported Milestone (MS) II CGFs for development costs ranging from 1.16 to 2.26; estimates of procurement CGFs ranging from 1.16 to 1.65; and total program CGFs ranging from 1.20 to 1.54. Regarding the differences among cost growth due to service, weapon, and time period, prior studies tended to find the following: Army weapon systems had higher cost growth than did weapon systems for the Air Force or Navy; cost growth differs by equipment type; and cost growth has declined from the 1960s and 1970s, after it was recognized as an important problem.
Download or read book The Impact of Economic Factors and Acquisition Reforms on the Cost of Defense Weapon Systems written by and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page 99 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Cost overruns in weapon system purchases have plagued the Department of Defense (DoD) throughout its history and have resulted in schedule delays and potentially reduced combat capability. This thesis created an empirical model that begins to explain those cost overruns. The model describes how changes in defense budgets, consolidation of the defense industry, acquisition reform, war, and cost estimating error are related to cost overruns. The cost performance of 186 major weapon system programs managed by the Air Force, Army, and Navy from 1970 to 2002 was described using a panel regression model. This research found that funding instability resulting from changing levels of defense budgets accounted for an increase of over $13.3 billion in weapon system costs since 1970. This research also found that the defense industry consolidation of the 1990s did not result in significant savings to the DoD. Finally, this research found that contrary to past studies, several acquisition reforms are correlated with a decrease in weapon system cost overruns. In particular, reforms resulting from the Nunn-McCurdy Act of 1982, the Packard Commission Recommendations of 1986 and the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act (FASA) of 1994 resulted in savings of almost $124 billion since 1982.
Download or read book Examination of the U S Air Force s Aircraft Sustainment Needs in the Future and Its Strategy to Meet Those Needs written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2011-11-17 with total page 254 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The ability of the United States Air Force (USAF) to keep its aircraft operating at an acceptable operational tempo, in wartime and in peacetime, has been important to the Air Force since its inception. This is a much larger issue for the Air Force today, having effectively been at war for 20 years, with its aircraft becoming increasingly more expensive to operate and maintain and with military budgets certain to further decrease. The enormously complex Air Force weapon system sustainment enterprise is currently constrained on many sides by laws, policies, regulations and procedures, relationships, and organizational issues emanating from Congress, the Department of Defense (DoD), and the Air Force itself. Against the back-drop of these stark realities, the Air Force requested the National Research Council (NRC) of the National Academies, under the auspices of the Air Force Studies Board to conduct and in-depth assessment of current and future Air Force weapon system sustainment initiatives and recommended future courses of action for consideration by the Air Force. Examination of the U.S. Air Force's Aircraft Sustainment Needs in the Future and Its Strategy to Meet Those Needs addresses the following topics: Assess current sustainment investments, infrastructure, and processes for adequacy in sustaining aging legacy systems and their support equipment. Determine if any modifications in policy are required and, if so, identify them and make recommendations for changes in Air Force regulations, policies, and strategies to accomplish the sustainment goals of the Air Force. Determine if any modifications in technology efforts are required and, if so, identify them and make recommendations regarding the technology efforts that should be pursued because they could make positive impacts on the sustainment of the current and future systems and equipment of the Air Force. Determine if the Air Logistics Centers have the necessary resources (funding, manpower, skill sets, and technologies) and are equipped and organized to sustain legacy systems and equipment and the Air Force of tomorrow. Identify and make recommendations regarding incorporating sustainability into future aircraft designs.
Download or read book How Much Is Enough written by Alain C. Enthoven and published by Rand Corporation. This book was released on 2005-10-18 with total page 395 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Originally published in 1971, and now published with a new foreword, this is a book of enduring value and lasting relevance. The authors detail the application, history, and controversies surrounding the Planning, Programming, and Budgeting System (PPBS), used to evaluate military needs and to choose among alternatives for meeting those needs.
Download or read book Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists written by and published by . This book was released on 1989-01 with total page 68 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists written by and published by . This book was released on 1989-01 with total page 68 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Chinese Navy written by Institute for National Strategic Studies and published by Government Printing Office. This book was released on 2011-12-27 with total page 348 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Tells the story of the growing Chinese Navy - The People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) - and its expanding capabilities, evolving roles and military implications for the USA. Divided into four thematic sections, this special collection of essays surveys and analyzes the most important aspects of China's navel modernization.
Download or read book China s Incomplete Military Transformation written by Michael S. Chase and published by Rand Corporation. This book was released on 2015-02-13 with total page 201 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Through extensive primary source analysis and independent analysis, this report seeks to answer a number of important questions regarding the state of China’s armed forces. The authors found that the PLA is keenly aware of its many weaknesses and is vigorously striving to correct them. Although it is only natural to focus on the PLA’s growing capabilities, understanding the PLA’s weaknesses—and its self-assessments—is no less important.
