Military acquisition or defense acquisition is the "

bureaucratic The term bureaucracy () refers to a body of non-elected governing officials as well as to an administrative policy-making group. Historically, a bureaucracy was a government administration managed by departments staffed with non-elected offi ...

management Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

and

procurement Procurement is the method of discovering and agreeing to terms and purchasing goods, services, or other works from an external source, often with the use of a tendering or competitive bidding process. When a government agency buys goods or ser ...

process", dealing with a

nation A nation is a community of people formed on the basis of a combination of shared features such as language, history, ethnicity, culture and/or society. A nation is thus the collective identity of a group of people understood as defined by those ...

's investments in the technologies, programs, and product support necessary to achieve its national security strategy and support its

armed forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

. Its objective is to acquire products that satisfy specified needs and provide measurable improvement to mission capability at a fair and reasonable price.

Concept

Military acquisition has a long history spanning from ancient times (e.g.,

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...

ing,

shipbuilding Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other Watercraft, floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roo ...

) to modern times. Modern military acquisition is a complex blend of

science Science is a systematic endeavor that Scientific method, builds and organizes knowledge in the form of Testability, testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earli ...

, and

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

disciplines within the context of a

's law and

regulation Regulation is the management of complex systems according to a set of rules and trends. In systems theory, these types of rules exist in various fields of biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a ...

framework to produce military material and

technology Technology is the application of knowledge to reach practical goals in a specifiable and reproducible way. The word ''technology'' may also mean the product of such an endeavor. The use of technology is widely prevalent in medicine, scie ...

. This complexity evolved from the increasing complexity of weapon systems starting in the 20th century. For example, the

Manhattan Project The Manhattan Project was a research and development undertaking during World War II that produced the first nuclear weapons. It was led by the United States with the support of the United Kingdom and Canada. From 1942 to 1946, the project w ...

involved more than 130,000 people at an estimated cost of nearly $24 billion in 2008 dollars. In the twenty-first century, the trend has been for countries to cooperate in military procurement, due to the rising cost-per-unit of digital age military hardware such as ships and jets. For example,

Nordic Defence Cooperation The Nordic Defence Cooperation (Nordefco) is a collaboration among the Nordic countries in the area of defense. Its five members are Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. The aim of the organization is to strengthen the member countries' ...

(established 2009), a grouping of Nordic countries that cooperate in defence spending, the Defence and Security Co-operation Treaty, signed between the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

in 2010, and

Joint Strike Fighter program Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) is a development and acquisition program intended to replace a wide range of existing fighter, strike, and ground attack aircraft for the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy, Canada, Australia, the Netherlan ...

, which selected the

Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is an American family of single-seat, single-engine, all-weather stealth multirole combat aircraft that is intended to perform both air superiority and strike missions. It is also able to provide elec ...

in 2001, included the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Italy, Canada, the Netherlands, Norway, Denmark, Turkey, Israel and Japan.

Activities

Major activities related to military acquisition are: *

Project management Project management is the process of leading the work of a team to achieve all project goals within the given constraints. This information is usually described in project documentation, created at the beginning of the development process. T ...

program management Program management, is the process of managing several related projects, often with the intention of improving an organization's performance. It is distinct from ''project'' management. In practice and in its aims, program management is often ...

** Risk management **

Earned value management Earned value management (EVM), earned value project management, or earned value performance management (EVPM) is a project management technique for measuring project performance and progress in an objective manner. Overview Earned value manag ...

Product management Product management is the business process of planning, developing, launching, and managing a product or service. It includes the entire lifecycle of a product, from ideation to development to go to market. Product managers are responsible for ...

Product life cycle management Product life-cycle management (PLM) is the succession of strategies by business management as a product goes through its life-cycle. The conditions in which a product is sold (advertising, saturation) changes over time and must be managed as it ...

Contract management Contract management or contract administration is the management of contracts made with customers, vendors, partners, or employees. Contract management includes negotiating the terms and conditions in contracts and ensuring compliance with the terms ...

Systems engineering Systems engineering is an interdisciplinary field of engineering and engineering management that focuses on how to design, integrate, and manage complex systems over their life cycles. At its core, systems engineering utilizes systems thinking ...

Software engineering Software engineering is a systematic engineering approach to software development. A software engineer is a person who applies the principles of software engineering to design, develop, maintain, test, and evaluate computer software. The term ' ...

Computer engineering Computer engineering (CoE or CpE) is a branch of electrical engineering and computer science that integrates several fields of computer science and electronic engineering required to develop computer hardware and software. Computer enginee ...

Human factors Human factors and ergonomics (commonly referred to as human factors) is the application of psychological and physiological principles to the engineering and design of products, processes, and systems. Four primary goals of human factors learnin ...

Modeling and simulation Modeling and simulation (M&S) is the use of models (e.g., physical, mathematical, or logical representation of a system, entity, phenomenon, or process) as a basis for simulations to develop data utilized for managerial or technical decision mak ...

Security" \n\n\nsecurity.txt is a proposed standard for websites' security information that is meant to allow security researchers to easily report security vulnerabilities. The standard prescribes a text file called \"security.txt\" in the well known locat ...

Procurement Procurement is the method of discovering and agreeing to terms and purchasing goods, services, or other works from an external source, often with the use of a tendering or competitive bidding process. When a government agency buys goods or ser ...

In the European Union

EU member states'

of arms, munitions, war material and related works and services acquired for defence purposes and procurement of sensitive supplies, works and services required for security purposes are subject to EU Directive 2009/81/EC on Defence and Sensitive Security Procurement. The purpose of the directive is to balance the need for transparency and openness in defence markets within the European Single Market with the need to protect individual countries’ security interests.European Commission
Defence procurement
accessed 9 June 2018

In the United Kingdom

The Defence and Security Public Contracts Regulations 2011, which were derived from EU law, apply to defence procurement in the UK, along with Parts 1 and 2 of the Defence Reform Act 2014. The Defence Reform Act established a statutory "Single Source" scheme applicable to situations where there is no

competition Competition is a rivalry where two or more parties strive for a common goal which cannot be shared: where one's gain is the other's loss (an example of which is a zero-sum game). Competition can arise between entities such as organisms, ind ...

between suppliers.

In the United States

The

US Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national sec ...

has three principal decision-making support systems associated with military acquisition:

Congressional Research Service The Congressional Research Service (CRS) is a public policy research institute of the United States Congress. Operating within the Library of Congress, it works primarily and directly for members of Congress and their committees and staff on ...

(Updated May 23, 2014) Defense Acquisitions: How DOD Acquires Weapon Systems and Recent Efforts to Reform the Process
RL34026 was originally written by Moshe Schwartz Th
Center for Strategic & International Studies
releases a report every year on defense acquisition trends. * Planning, Programming, Budgeting and Execution (PPBE) Process – Process for strategic planning, program development, and resource determination. *

Joint Capabilities Integration and Development System The Joint Capabilities Integration and Development System (JCIDS), is the formal United States Department of Defense (DoD) process which defines acquisition requirements and evaluation criteria for future defense programs. JCIDS was created to repl ...

– The systematic method established by the Joint Chiefs of Staff for assessing gaps in military joint warfighting capabilities and recommending solutions to resolve these gaps. * Defense Acquisition System – The management process used to acquire weapon systems and automated information system. Because of the size and scope of such a bureaucracy, the US Department of Defense instituted an extensive training program, known as the

Defense Acquisition University The Defense Acquisition University (DAU) is a corporate university of the United States Department of Defense offering "acquisition, technology, and logistics" (AT&L) training to military and Federal civilian staff and Federal contractors. DAU is ...

In Canada

In Canada, military acquisition falls under three separate government departments: th
Public Services and Procurement Canada
(PSPC); th

(DND)
Innovation, Science and Economic Development
(ISED). *PSPC is responsible for overseeing and managing the proposal solicitation and evaluation process, and once under contract, PSPC manages the contract on behalf of DND. *DND is responsible for a four step process: # Identify the need for a new or improved capability; # Analyze the available options to address the identified need; # If external procurement is the result of the optional analysis, then defining the requirements and budget for the procured solution; and # Implementing the defined solution. ISED is responsible for defining and administering the Industrial and Technological Benefits (ITB) and Value Proposition (VP), which are offsets applied to the selected defense procurements. ISED may apply offsets to DND and Coast Guard procurements of $20M (CAD, or about $15M USD) or greater. All Canadian defence procurement falls under the auspices of th

which establishes national procurement and contracting standards and regulations on behalf of the Government of Canada.name="Contracting Policy" https://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/pol/doc-eng.aspx?id=14494

Notes

References

External links

* Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition (ASAF (A)

* Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development & Acquisition (ASN (RDA)

* Defense Acquisition History Projec

* Defense Procurement New

* United States Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology, United States Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology ( OASA(ALT)

* Defense Acquisition Universit
ACC Practice Center
{{Authority control Military acquisition,