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Military Acquisition and Procurement

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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.

Report

Software Acquisition Workforce Initiative for the Department of Defense

Mar 31, 2020

The U.S. Department of Defense seeks to advance the ability of its software acquisition workforce to rapidly and reliably deliver complex software-dependent capabilities. What competencies are needed for an effective software acquisition workforce?
Commentary

Are Military Purchases in SE Asia for Political Balancing a Good Use of National Defense Resources?

May 7, 2020

The Philippines has embarked upon a multi-phase, multi-year modernization of its armed forces, but some of the acquisition decisions appear to be driven by political symbolism rather than responsible military decisions. Using military procurement for political symbolism and paying a high price for it takes resources away from other pressing national security and domestic needs.

Explore Military Acquisition and Procurement

Report

Comparing the Cost-Effectiveness of Expendable Versus Reusable Small Air Vehicles

RAND Corporation researchers reviewed the comparative cost-effectiveness of reusable and expendable platforms for small unmanned aerial vehicles. The findings show that current technology often makes reusable platforms relatively inexpensive.

Feb 23, 2021
Report

Managing Risk in Globalized Supply Chains

This report addresses the challenges the U.S. Air Force faces in mitigating the risks associated with an increasingly globalized weapon supply chain and suggests ways to improve how it addresses such risks.

Feb 5, 2021
Commentary

Bad Idea: Overly Focusing on Development and Acquisition Speed

The Pentagon has in recent years turned its attention to the need for speed in weapons system development and acquisition. While shortening the timeline for program development and fielding is important for Defense Department acquisition leaders, overly prioritizing speed can lead to issues with program management, sustainment, and other areas.

Dec 16, 2020
Testimony

Australia’s Naval Shipbuilding Capability

During the past decade, Australia has used research to understand the cost, benefits, and challenges of national shipbuilding strategies and decisions. What recent developments should Australia's policymakers consider when planning naval ship programs?

Nov 12, 2020
Report

Prototyping Using Other Transactions: Case Studies for the Acquisition Community

Through literature reviews, interviews, and case studies, researchers reviewed recent U.S. Air Force experience in using other transactions for prototype projects (OTs), identifying lessons for acquisition professionals and improvements for use.

Aug 31, 2020
Report

Strategies for Acquisition Agility: Approaches for Speeding Delivery of Defense Capabilities

The authors analyze various approaches to speed acquisition of military capabilities and keep pace with evolving threats, assess these approaches' suitability for different conditions and acquisition types, and identify implementation issues.

Aug 27, 2020
Commentary

Russia's Su-57 Heavy Fighter Bomber: Is It Really a Fifth-Generation Aircraft?

Russia's Su-57 aircraft has been in development since 2002 and is considered a key part of Russia's arms export industry as a fifth-generation fighter. Despite continued Russian efforts to sell the aircraft, it is unlikely that a fully developed and full production–ready Su-57 will be available for sale before the late 2020s.

Aug 17, 2020
Report

Improving Acquisition to Support the Space Enterprise Vision

A new RAND report examines potential acquisition approaches to support the Space Enterprise Vision and identifies several promising ones that merit in-depth examination: modular open system architectures, agile acquisition, rapid prototyping.

Jul 15, 2020
Commentary

Book Review: 'The Kill Chain: Defending America in the Future of High-Tech Warfare' by Christian Brose

As the Pentagon and commercial technologists continue to explore the potential of commercial technologies for the military and work towards greater adoption, they may wish to focus not only on lowering bureaucratic barriers but also on managing expectations about what technologies will be most beneficial and how they will be used.

Jul 2, 2020
Commentary

The Value of Systematic Assessments of Weapons Procurement

Considering the COVID-19 pandemic and inevitable economic difficulties, national governments should be encouraged to weigh their military requirements in a more cost-effective manner. Countries need to think strategically about the life cycle costs of equipment, not just the original purchase price.

Jun 8, 2020
Report

Benchmarking Data Use and Analytics in Large, Complex Private-Sector Organizations: Implications for Department of Defense Acquisition

This report examines how the private sector addresses data governance and analytics to inform how the Department of Defense can develop and apply advanced analytics to acquisition challenges.

Jun 4, 2020
Report

Building a Broader Evidence Base for Defense Acquisition Policymaking

This report summarizes the case for a broader evidence base for defense acquisition policymaking. It also describes a prototype policy game focused on Middle-Tier Acquisition that researchers developed to enrich the available evidence base.

May 19, 2020
Commentary

Protecting the U.S. Supply on Heavy Lift Launch Vehicles

Our recent RAND report on the global heavy lift launch market highlights the potential for a near term shortage of launch vehicles needed to lift U.S. defense and intelligence satellites to orbit. These satellites are the eyes, ears, networks and timekeepers of U.S. armed services, and an inability to launch them in times of need could compromise national security.

May 6, 2020
Report

The Impact of the Air Force's Space Launch Acquisition Decisions

How could potential U.S. Air Force decisions in the near term affect domestic launch providers and the market in general? New launch market forecasts and vignettes illuminate potential strategies for U.S. firms.

Apr 28, 2020
Report

Meeting U.S. Coast Guard Airpower Needs: Assessing the Options

Researchers assessed what airpower fleet mixes could best posture the U.S. Coast Guard to execute its various missions globally to meet future operational requirements. This report provides their findings and recommendations.

Apr 21, 2020
Commentary

Indications of Institutional Inertia: The FY2021 USMC Budget

The Grim Reaper is a 700-foot-tall series of hills that Marine Corps recruits must summit to graduate from boot camp. As the Marine Corps attempts to transform from a second land army and counterinsurgency force to operate within contested maritime spaces, its recent budget request suggests that it will need to climb its own Grim Reaper to get there.

Mar 26, 2020
Report

Issues with Access to Acquisition Information in the Department of Defense: A Series on Considerations for Managing Program Data in the Emerging Acquisition Environment

This research identifies and describes some of the issues related to managing acquisition program information in the emerging acquisition environment resulting from statutory changes within the Department of Defense acquisition community.

Feb 6, 2020
Report

Assessment of Alternative Funding Models for Activities in RDECOM (Now CCDC) and ATEC

Current funding models and impacts of alternative models are assessed by the authors to help the U.S. Army increase the transparency of reimbursable accounting practices and improve auditability at two Army commands.

Feb 6, 2020

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RAND Topic:
Military Acquisition and Procurement

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