Maintaining a military that is prepared to face uncertain future security challenges often requires the acquisition and procurement of new and technologically advanced equipment, which is a major expense for any nation. For decades, RAND has researched and evaluated military acquisition and procurement activities, providing essential recommendations to allow military decisionmakers to manage costs and streamline the acquisition process more effectively.
Commentary
Will any good come out of the Pentagon's sequester-mandated spending cuts? If nothing else, it will drive folks to think the unthinkable, says Charles Nemfakos.
Report
This paper describes a new approach and associated search schemes for optimization under uncertainty. Analysts can apply this method to a problem with a significantly larger number of decision variables, uncertain parameters, and uncertain scenarios.
Report
Examines the United States Army's use of capability portfolio management in acquisitions.
Report
This monograph presents the results of a cost-effectiveness analysis to determine the best way to recapitalize the USAF intertheater (strategic) airlift fleet, which will be reaching the end of its service life in the next few decades.
Report
Reviews the Army's achievements in implementing best purchasing and supply management practices and describes how this progress compares with that of leading commercial enterprises.
Report
The U.S. Navy requires an agile, adaptable acquisition process that can field new IT capabilities and services quickly. Successful rapid acquisition programs in the Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps offer lessons for the Navy as it develops its own streamlined processes for computer network defense and similar program areas.
Report
A new federal requirement for justification and approval of 8(a) contracts over $20 million may delay the awarding of these contracts to eligible participants such as Native Group firms but have little impact on the number of such contracts awarded.
Report
Documents the U.S. Army's Future Combat Systems program's history, from inception to cancellation, and draws lessons from its experiences.
Research Brief
PortMan, RAND's new portfolio analysis and management methodology, provides a means for decisionmakers to find the optimal portfolio of projects, maximizing the probability of filling a desired set of requirements while restraining costs.
Report
This is a legislatively mandated assessment of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Civilian Acquisition Workforce Personnel Demonstration Project (AcqDemo).
Report
This publication lists and briefly summarizes some projects undertaken by RAND's three federally funded research and development centers that have helped save the government money or that have identified ways to do so. Amounts saved are estimated.
Report
Congressional concern with cost overruns in some major defense acquisition programs led to an investigation of root causes in six programs, enabling RAND to develop a methodology for carrying out such analyses.
Report
Examines the Air Force experience with should-cost reviews — a special form of contract cost analysis intended to identify contractor inefficiencies and lower costs — and options for enhancing the Air Force's capability to conduct such reviews.
Report
Provides a guide for the design and improvement of Department of Defense supply chain policy, structure, and management practices, along with associated opportunities for efficiency gains.
Report
Concern with cost overruns in major defense acquisition programs led Congress to direct investigation of root causes of programs that breached Nunn-McCurdy thresholds. RAND applied its methodology to Excalibur and the Navy's ERP.
Report
A congressionally mandated review of the proposed restructuring of Air Force Materiel Command examined the proposal and its effect on life-cycle management, weapon system sustainment, and overall support to the warfighter.
Report
Energy purchases made by the U.S. DoD do not influence world oil prices, making cutting fuel use the only effective choice to reduce what the Pentagon spends on it. The U.S. military can continue to have an important role in promoting stability in major oil producing regions and by helping protect the flow of energy through major transit corridors and on the high seas.
News Release
Energy purchases made by the U.S. Department of Defense do not influence world oil prices, making cutting fuel use the only effective choice to reduce what the Pentagon spends on petroleum fuels.
Report
Surveys the work of the RAND National Security Research Division from the spring of 2011 through the winter of 2012.
Report
The Air Force is planning to modernize its automatic testing capabilities for electronics by moving to modern, common families of test equipment. This report focuses on the economic aspect of this process.
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