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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

Robust Decision Making Could Help Defense Resource Planning

Feb 1, 2016

Defense planning needs a new approach to identify strategies that perform well over a wide range of threat and funding futures. RDM is designed to inform decisions under conditions of deep uncertainty and complexity, and as shown in an application to the munitions mix challenge, could prove quite useful.
Commentary

Acquisition in Transition

Feb 21, 2017

The DoD acquisition system is complex and ever-changing. It requires a trained and active workforce that has the support of Congress. Allowing some of the reforms to take place in a measured fashion would be a wise choice for the new administration and Congress.

Explore Military Acquisition and Procurement

Commentary

Cluster Munitions and Rearming for Great Power Competition

The United States might need Cluster munitions, anti-personnel landmines, and tactical nuclear weapons to deter or defeat aggression. If policymakers choose to lift bans on these munitions, the ensuing policy restrictions might be tailored to address where these capabilities are necessary.

May 9, 2018
Report

Report

Factoring Security Cooperation into Core U.S. Air Force Decisionmaking Processes: Incorporating Impact in Planning, Programming, and Capability Development

This report reviews two core U.S. Air Force decisionmaking processes to determine the extent to which decisionmakers consider security cooperation impact and to recommend ways to make such considerations systematic and explicit.

Apr 19, 2018
Report

Report

Benchmarking Schedules for Major Defense Acquisition Programs

Describes an approach for evaluating the schedule plans for major defense acquisition programs that have recently entered the Air Force portfolio.

Apr 11, 2018
Dissertation

Dissertation

Using the National Training Center Instrumentation System to Aid Simulation-Based Acquisition

This dissertation uses the National Training Center instrumentation system to aid simulation-based acquisition.

Mar 22, 2018
Report

Report

Issues with Access to Acquisition Data and Information in the Department of Defense: Considerations for Implementing the Controlled Unclassified Information Reform Program

This report provides a closer look at the current state of the Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) program as well as how the new CUI rules might affect DoD acquisition data management.

Jan 24, 2018
Report

Report

Assessing Bid Protests of U.S. Department of Defense Procurements: Identifying Issues, Trends, and Drivers

The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 called for a study of "the prevalence and impact of bid protests on DoD acquisitions," including the systematic collection and analysis of information on their characteristics and outcomes.

Jan 4, 2018
Brochure

Saving the Government Money: Examples from RAND's FFRDCs

RAND's federally funded research and development centers apply research capital they have developed over the years to help decisionmakers solve problems and often save money as well. This publication lists and briefly summarizes some RAND projects undertaken over the past several years that have helped save the government money or that have identified ways to do so.

Dec 20, 2017
Commentary

Reauthorizing DHS: Aligning Requirements, Research, Development and Acquisition

As part of the discussion about reauthorizing the Department of Homeland Security, Congress might want to consider how to improve acquisitions. Rather than focusing only on the steps in the acquisition process, that discussion could also include consideration of pre and post-acquisition activities.

Oct 23, 2017
Report

Future Aircraft Carrier Options

As the U.S. Navy's legacy aircraft carrier force begins reaching expected service life, what are the possible alternatives to potentially replace it? And what are the potential implications for procurement cost and effectiveness?

Oct 6, 2017
Report

Report

Human Capital Needs for the Department of Defense Operational Contract Support Planning and Integration Workforce

This comprehensive review of the U.S. Department of Defense operational contract support (OCS) planning and integration workforce identifies gaps between doctrine and practice, recommending several options to address these shortfalls.

Oct 2, 2017
Report

Report

Exploring Parallel Development in the Context of Agile Acquisition: Analytical Support to the Air Superiority 2030 Enterprise Capability Collaboration Team

In providing analytical support to the U.S. Air Force, RAND researchers explore how a parallel development approach in an agile acquisition environment can help more rapidly transition new technologies and concepts to the fleet.

Aug 25, 2017
Commentary

Privatizing the Military Unlikely to Be a Viable Solution in Afghanistan

Operational contractors are now an entrenched part of the Department of Defense’s total force and are here to stay. But replacing U.S. military personnel with contractors is not likely to be a militarily effective solution for the Afghanistan problem.

Aug 14, 2017
Report

Report

Enhancing Management of the Joint Future Vertical Lift Initiative

It is possible to achieve some degree of commonality without joint program management and identifies lessons from historical experience and how they apply to the joint Future Vertical Lift initiative.

Aug 14, 2017
Commentary

Is It a Good Idea to Privatize the War in Afghanistan?

The CEO of the Blackwater Corporation has suggested that the U.S. should privatize the war in Afghanistan, and the administration is reportedly giving it some thought. It is important not to dismiss this plan categorically, but to consider it on the merits. Doing so highlights the risks of such a plan.

Aug 4, 2017
Report

Report

Quantifying Cost and Schedule Uncertainty for Major Defense Acquisition Programs (MDAPs)

To help the Air Force better anticipate cost and schedule challenges and manage programs, this study developed a methodology to evaluate the likelihood of cost growth and schedule slip for major defense acquisition projects (MDAPs).

Jul 17, 2017
Report

Report

Program Characteristics That Contribute to Cost Growth: A Comparison of Air Force Major Defense Acquisition Programs

This report evaluates four recent Air Force Major Defense Acquisition Programs with low cost growth and compares and contrasts their key characteristics to the six programs evaluated with extreme cost growth from a companion RAND Corporation report.

Jun 30, 2017
Report

Report

Improving the Air Force Small-Business Performance Expectations Methodology

This study is an assessment of the Air Force Small-Business Performance Expectations Methodology, with recommendations for improvement.

Jun 2, 2017
Report

Report

A Review of Alternative Methods to Inventory Contracted Services in the Department of Defense

Concerned about U.S. Department of Defense contracts for private-sector services, Congress mandated development of an inventory of contract activities. RAND conducted a review of the system, stakeholder needs, and alternative data sources.

Apr 27, 2017
Report

Report

Issues with Access to Acquisition Data and Information in the Department of Defense: Doing Data Right in Weapon System Acquisition

This report examines Department of Defense acquisition data and the information systems where it resides and offers insights into improving the management, availability, and usefulness of this information.

Mar 27, 2017
Report

Report

Needs, Effectiveness, and Gap Assessment for Key A-10C Missions: An Overview of Findings

This report analyzes several missions assigned to the A-10C aircraft and the needs this mission set could generate over the next five years. It also assesses existing and planned forces' effectiveness and capability gaps in performing those missions.

Mar 2, 2017

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RAND Topic:
Military Acquisition and Procurement

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