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Military Airframe Acquisition Costs
During the past couple of decades, many segments of U.S. industry have benefited from introducing new manufacturing techniques that save money by increasing efficiency and reducing overhead. Would U.S. military aircraft manufacturing benefit from these techniques as well? This report examines the package of new tools and techniques known as lean production to see if it would enable aircraft manufacturers to produce new weapon systems at costs below those predicted by historical cost estimating models. The authors give a broad overview of what lean is and what it can and cannot accomplish in cutting manufacturing costs. They also detail results of industry efforts in this regard, including specific examples and averages of claimed cost savings. The authors conclude by identifying areas where companies need to push harder in lean implementation and what the Defense Department can do to encourage this.
Systems Engineering and Program Management
Systems engineering and program management (SE/PM) constitute a large portion of the acquisition cost of military aircraft and guided weapons systems. The goal of this study was the development of a set of cost-estimating relationships that can be used to estimate the SE/PM cost element for development and production of aircraft and weapons programs. The authors canvassed government and industry personnel to learn about current techniques for estimating SE/PM costs, and they collected historical data from several aircraft and weapons programs to investigate trends in SE/PM costs over time and to generate methods that cost analysts can use early in the life cycle of a program when little cost...
Impossible Certainty
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."
Is Weapon System Cost Growth Increasing?
In recent decades, there have been numerous attempts to rein in the cost growth of U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) acquisition programs. Cost growth is the ratio of the cost estimate reported in a program's final Selected Acquisition Report (SAR) and the cost-estimate baseline reported in a prior SAR issued at a particular milestone. Drawing on prior RAND research, new analyses of completed and ongoing weapon system programs, and data drawn from SARs, this study addresses the following questions: What is the cost growth of DoD weapon systems? What has been the trend of cost growth over the past three decades? To address the magnitude of cost growth, it examines cost growth in completed prog...
Evolutionary Acquisition
"So far, EA implementation of military space programs has produced mixed results. The capabilities and requirements definition and management processes are major challenges in all EA programs. EA programs require an evolutionary costing approach; most cost analysts interviewed expressed generally positive views about EA."--BOOK JACKET.
Budget Estimating Relationships for Depot-level Reparables in the Air Force Flying Hour Program
Budget estimating relationships (BERs) for flying depot-level reparables (DLRs) explain the direct effect of specified variables on obligated funds associated with spare parts that directly support the U.S. Air Force (USAF) Flying Hour Program. In FY02, net sales of DLRs to Air Force commands hit historic highs. To provide the Air Force Cost Analysis Improvement Group with a tool to better understand the commands-- budgetary submissions, we develop several explanatory BERs to understand why flying DLRs are at their particular levels. Using longitudinal regression statistical methods, we explain the historical net sales of flying DLRs using estimating models that relate net sales to the contemporaneous values of aircraft characteristics, operational tempo, and time-related variables. This is but one part of a larger project to develop better estimating methods for use by the acquisition community and to examine the impact of Air Force and DoD policies on weapon system costs. The findings will also be of interest to those in the national security community who are involved in analyzing alternative military postures, and to members of the aircraft industry's analytical community.
Software Cost Estimation and Sizing Methods
Recommends an approach to improving the utility and accuracy of software cost estimates by exposing uncertainty (in understanding the project) and reducing the risks associated with developing the estimates. The approach focuses on characteristics of the estimation process (such as which methods and models are most appropriate for a given situation) and the nature of the data used (such as software size), describing symptoms and warning signs of risk in each factor, and risk-mitigation strategies.
A New Direction for China's Defense Industry
Since the early 1980s, a prominent and consistent conclusion drawn from research on China's defense-industrial complex has been that China's defense-production capabilities are rife with weaknesses and limitations. This study argues for an alternative approach: From the vantage point of 2005, it is time to shift the focus of current research to the gradual improvements in and the future potential of China's defense-industrial complex. The study found that China's defense sectors are designing and producing a wide range of increasingly advanced weapons that, in the short term, are relevant to a possible conflict over Taiwan but also to China's long-term military presence in Asia. Part of a larger RAND Project AIR FORCE study on Chinese military modernization, this study examines the current and future capabilities of China's defense industry. The goals of this study are to 1.
The Military and the Market
No detailed description available for "The Military and the Market".
