Overview
Technology has long been an advantage for U.S. forces, and the advances now coming off the shelf could increase America's lead. At the same time, decisionmakers must develop and acquire cutting-edge military systems in an era of ever-tighter resource constraints. They must also consider the implications of information warfare, constantly emerging battlefield technologies, and advanced modeling and simulation for military practice.
Organization
RAND research on acquisition and technology issues is conducted within each of RAND's national security research divisions and collaboratively across the RAND research community.
Key Research Centers:
Examines the desirable and undesirable trade-offs that U.S. Army decisionmakers must make regarding commonality in military equipment.
The military services have established programs geared toward reducing dependence on the use of petroleum-derived fuels in tactical weapon systems. This monograph examines alternative fuels that are candidates for military applications, focusing on economic viability, greenhouse gas emissions, military utility, and current alternative fuel development, testing, and certification efforts within the Department of Defense.
Department of Defense policies, procedures, and organizations for program management and oversight of defense acquisition programs do not align well with shipbuilding. Ship acquisition programs have characteristics that deviate from the normal framework in significant ways, resulting in disconnects and some confusion. The authors examine these differences and suggest policies that can better account for them.
