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Many managers and executives responsible for weapons acquisition, both in industry and the Department of Defense, argue that regulations are inhibiting the timely and economical development of weapon systems. This report presents quantitative analyses of the effects of regulations and controls on management practices and overall outcomes of weapons acquisition projects. The authors conclude that, on the basis of currently available information, it is not possible to correlate regulatory activity and program outcomes--no cause-and-effect relationships can be inferred

Defense industries --- Law and legislation --- United States --- Armed Forces --- Weapons systems. --- Procurement. --- Defenses --- Law and legislation.

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Surveys acquisition of 32 major weapon systems that entered full scale development during the 1970s. Changes occurred in both acquisition practice and program outcomes in response to policy initiatives introduced at the beginning of the decade. The amount of test information available at major decision points (DSARC milestones) increased substantially; the program manager's position was strengthened through better training, longer tenure, and better promotion prospects; and competition has increased, especially in the early phases of development. A typical program experienced cost growth of roughly 20 percent, slipped its schedule by just over 10 percent, and generally met its performance goals. Programs surveyed here equalled or surpassed a similar set of 1960s programs in schedule and performance goals and came closer to cost goals. Several promising ways are recommended for strengthening the present acquisition process and improving the quality of information that managers need to track and control ongoing programs.

Weapons systems --- Management. --- United States. --- Procurement. --- United States --- Armed Forces --- Weapons systems.

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The time required to divine and develop a new weapon system is an important element of the overall acquisition process. This study identifies the major factors controlling the pace of typical weapon acquisition programs and suggests reforms that may yield overall benefits through reduction of typical development time. Results of the analysis show that, although there are large variations in the duration of programs in each decade, the time to design and develop programs has apparently lengthened. There is no single, narrowly focused policy option that would reduce the length of the acquisition cycle. Rather, coordination of several different initiatives involving the cooperation of Department of Defense agencies and Congress is necessary. The authors found no strong association among the length of the plan, the factors affecting the plan, and the actual schedule outcome, suggesting that programs with fairly short plans can, in some circumstances, have successful schedule outcomes.

United States --- Armed Forces --- Procurement. --- Weapons systems.

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""Other Transactions"" authority provides the Department of Defense with the latest commercial market technologies while reducing the burden of an extensive procurement process to the contractor.

Defense contracts --- Weapons systems --- Research and development contracts, Government --- Design and construction

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It is frequently argued that Special Access Programs (SAPs) are more effectively and efficiently managed than their counterparts conducted in a more open environment. Unfortunately, such programs usually remain under tight security control, making it impossible to rigorously test the accuracy of the claims or to systematically identify and apply strategies and attributes to a wider variety of acquisition programs.

F-117 (Jet attack plane) --- Purchasing. --- United States. --- Procurement.