Owning the Technical Baseline
for Acquisition Programs
in the U.S. Air Force
A WORKSHOP REPORT
Committee on Owning the Technical Baseline in the U.S. Air Force: A Workshop
Air Force Studies Board
Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences
NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL
OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
Washington, D.C.
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS 500 Fifth Street, NW Washington, DC 20001
NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.
This is a report of work supported by FA9550-14-1-0127 between the U.S. Air Force and the National Academy of Sciences. Any opinions, findings, or conclusions expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the organizations or agencies that provided support for the project.
International Standard Book Number-13: 978-0-309-37431-6
International Standard Book Number-10: 0-309-37431-6
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Advisers to the Nation on Science, Engineering, and Medicine
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COMMITTEE ON OWNING THE TECHNICAL BASELINE
IN THE U.S. AIR FORCE: A WORKSHOP
HENRY A. “TREY” OBERING III, Booz Allen Hamilton, Chair
CLAUDE M. BOLTON, JR., Defense Acquisition University
MICHAEL D. GRIFFIN, Schafer Corporation
TERRY J. JAGGERS, Decisive Analytics Corporation
GARY A. KYLE, Persistent Agility, Inc.
JON S. OGG, AeroVise, LLC
SUE C. PAYTON, SCI Aerospace, Inc.
RICHARD T. ROCA, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory
Staff
JOAN FULLER, Director, Air Force Studies Board
CARTER W. FORD, Program Officer
DIONNA C. ALI, Research Assistant
GREGORY EYRING, Senior Program Officer
MARGUERITE E. SCHNEIDER, Administrative Coordinator
AIR FORCE STUDIES BOARD
DOUGLAS M. FRASER, Doug Fraser, LLC, Chair
DONALD C. FRASER, Charles Stark Draper Laboratory (retired), Vice Chair
BRIAN A. ARNOLD, Peachtree City, Georgia
ALLISON ASTORINO-COURTOIS, National Security Innovations, Inc.
CLAUDE M. BOLTON, JR., Defense Acquisition University
TED F. BOWLDS, The Spectrum Group
STEVEN R.J. BRUECK, University of New Mexico
THOMAS J. BURNS, Great Falls, Virginia
FRANK J. CAPPUCCIO, Cappuccio and Associates, LLC
BLAISE J. DURANTE, U.S. Air Force (retired)
MELISSA L. FLAGG, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
BRENDAN B. GODFREY, University of Maryland, College Park
MICHAEL A. HAMEL, Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company
DANIEL E. HASTINGS, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
RAYMOND E. JOHNS, JR., FlightSafety International
PAUL G. KAMINSKI, Technovation, Inc.
ROBERT H. LATIFF, R. Latiff Associates
NANCY G. LEVESON, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
MARK J. LEWIS, Institute for Defense Analyses Science and Technology Policy Institute
ALEX MILLER, University of Tennessee
OZDEN OCHOA, Texas A&M University
RICHARD V. REYNOLDS, The VanFleet Group, LLC
STARNES E. WALKER, University of Delaware
DEBORAH WESTPHAL, Toffler Associates
DAVID A. WHELAN, Boeing Defense, Space, and Security
REBECCA WINSTON, Winston Strategic Management Consulting
MICHAEL I. YARYMOVYCH, Sarasota Space Associates
Staff
JOAN FULLER, Director
ALAN H. SHAW, Deputy Director
DIONNA C. ALI, Research Assistant
GREGORY EYRING, Senior Program Officer
CARTER W. FORD, Program Officer
CHRIS JONES, Financial Manager
ANDREW J. KREEGER, Program Officer
MARGUERITE E. SCHNEIDER, Administrative Coordinator
Acknowledgment of Reviewers
This report has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the National Research Council’s (NRC’s) Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the institution in making its published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process. We wish to thank the following individuals for their review of this report:
Naim Awaad, Space and Missile Systems Center, Air Force Space Command,
R. Stephen Berry, University of Chicago,
Gordon R. England, E6 Partners, LLC,
Millard S. Firebaugh, University of Maryland, College Park,
Paul G. Gaffney II, Monmouth University, and
Kathleen K. Paige, Mark India LLC.
Although the reviewers listed above have provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the views presented at the workshop, nor did they see the final draft of the workshop report before its release. The review of this workshop report was overseen by Chris G. Whipple, ENVIRON (retired). Appointed by the NRC, he was responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this workshop report was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content of this report rests entirely with the committee and the institution.
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Contents
1 WHY OWNING THE TECHNICAL BASELINE FOR ACQUISITION PROGRAMS IS IMPORTANT TO THE U.S. AIR FORCE
Current Context of Department of Defense Acquisition
2 WORKSHOP PARTICIPANT OBSERVATIONS
A Biographical Sketches of Committee Members
B Workshop Presentations and Participants
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Acronyms
A&AS | advisory and assistance services |
AFLCMC | Air Force Life Cycle Management Center |
AFMC | Air Force Materiel Command |
AFRL | Air Force Research Laboratory |
APT | Advanced Pilot Training |
DCGS | Distributed Common Ground Systems |
DoD | Department of Defense |
ECSS | Expeditionary Combat Support System |
EPASS | Engineering, Professional, and Administrative Support Services |
FAB-T | Family of Advanced Beyond-Line-of-Sight Terminals |
FFRDC | federally funded research and development center |
FoS | Family of Systems |
ISEC | ISR Systems Engineering Center |
ISR | intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance |
Lab Demo | laboratory demonstration |
LPTA | lowest price technically acceptable |
LRSO | Long-Range Stand Off |
NRC | National Research Council |
O&M | operations and maintenance |
OTB | owning the technical baseline |
PEO | program executive officer |
PM | program manager |
PO | program office |
RDT&E | research, development, test, and evaluation |
S&E | science and engineering |
SAE | service acquisition executive |
SAF/AA | Secretary of the Air Force, Administrative Assistant |
SAF/AQ | Assistant Secretary of the Air Force Acquisition |
SAF/AQR | Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Science, Technology, and Engineering |
SAF/FM | Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Financial Management |
SAF/PAO | Secretary of the Air Force, Public Affairs Office |
SMC | Space Missile Command |
SPO | system program office |
TSPR | total system performance responsibility |
UARC | university affiliated research center |
UMD | Unit Manpower Document |
W/G/S/F | wings, groups, squadrons, and flights |