An Analysis of the Support Equipment Acquisition Process and Methods Designed to Reduce Acquisition Leadtime

Support equipment acquisition leadtime continues to be a problem for both the United States Air Force and our foreign military sales programs. As a microcosm of the entire Department of Defense acquisition process, support equipment is often, late to need, without a complete integrated logistics support package, of poor or unstable design, and frequently requires considerable interim support. The purpose of this thesis is to look at the support equipment acquisition process from three perspectives: (1) from the overall weapon system acquisition process; (2) in the broad perspective of the integrated logistics support (ILS) concept; and (3) in the much narrower perspective of procuring organizations. The objective of this thesis is to examine support equipment acquisition from the viewpoint of the procuring organizations.