Program Related Publication Feeds

NSPIR Current Issues No. 38: Sequestration and the Future of the Air Force Aircraft Industrial Base

rmccormick — Thu, 29 May 2014 00:00:00 -0400

Since the “Last Supper” in 1993 and the resulting industrial base consolidation, there has been alarm regarding the long-term health of the industrial base supporting the U.S. Air Force and the broader aerospace market.

NSPIR Current Issues: The Impact of Sequestration on Defense Contract Obligations

gsanders — Fri, 09 May 2014 00:00:00 -0400

There has been significant anecdotal evidence that sequestration has had a profound effect on contracting by the Department of Defense (DoD), but virtually no hard data. This lack of reliable information on the impact of sequestration can now be remedied with the availability of FY2013 DoD contracting data through the publicly-available Federal Procurement Data System (FPDS).

NSPIR Current Issues No. 37: Trends in U.S. Defense Contracting Outside the Continental United States

Thu, 16 Jan 2014 00:00:00 -0500

Since President Obama took office in January 2009, the international security environment and the United States’ activities have changed substantially. These shifts in policy and posture have resulted in changes in international contracting. The data allow for the evaluation of two important policy questions: Where are the majority of U.S.

NSPIR Current Issues No. 36: A Contracts-Based Survey of Developments in Japan’s Defense Industry

Mon, 28 Oct 2013 00:00:00 -0400

Japan is seeking to pull itself from an 11-year decline in defense spending with significant budget increases, including its largest year-over-year increase in over two decades. As scholars and analysts parse the implications of the budget trajectory for the future of Japan and the security environment in Asia, it is timely to assess the country’s defense industrial base.

NSPIR Current Issues No. 35: How dependent are East Asian states on arms imports?

Tue, 15 Oct 2013 00:00:00 -0400

In 2012, Asian states spent more on defense than European states for the first time in modern history, with both arms sales to Asia and Asian defense budgets rising substantially. This paper examines the role of arms imports in the military modernization efforts of selected East Asian states relative to their respective domestic defense production.

DIIG Current Issues No. 34: FY2012 Federal Services Contracting Trends

Tue, 27 Aug 2013 00:00:00 -0400

Fiscal pressures related to the Budget Control Act have driven agencies to look to contracts as a as a source of potential savings. Accounting for 24 percent of total federal discretionary outlays, and 60 percent of total federal contract obligations in 2012, services contracts are a ripe source for savings.

DIIG Current Issues No. 33: The Fight for Reliable Federal Contracting Data

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 00:00:00 -0400

With the implementation of sequestration, federal spending is expected to be cut by approximately $1.2 trillion over the next decade. In these times of austerity, demand from the public and Congress to verify that federal money is spent effectively has led to a number of policies and mechanisms meant to improve the quality and quantity of federal contracting data.

DIIG Current Issues No. 32: A Reality Check for the U.S. Semiconductor Industrial Base

gsanders — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

The U.S. semiconductor industrial base is critical to the nation’s continued leadership in advanced defense technologies. The importance of this industry adds urgency to declining cost-competitiveness among U.S. manufacturers and diverging alignment between global demand and domestic production capacity.

DIIG Current Issues No. 31: Latin American Defense Spending Trends

Mon, 11 Feb 2013 00:00:00 -0500

While U.S. and European defense budgets have decreased in recent years, those in Latin America have enjoyed significant growth. This paper presents defense budget trends for the Latin America's five biggest defense spenders and analyzes them in the context of broader defense policy developments.

DIIG Current Issues No. 30: DoD Contracting for a Greener Future

Thu, 01 Nov 2012 00:00:00 -0400

Throughout the past decade, the Department of Defense (DoD) has repeatedly stressed its responsibility to reduce energy consumption, enhance environmental protection, and increase investments in alternative power sources.

DIIG Current Issues No. 29: U.S.-Brazil Relations and the Role of the Defense Industry

Tue, 28 Aug 2012 00:00:00 -0400

In April 2012, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff and President Obama established the U.S.-Brazil Defense Cooperation Dialogue (DCG), an ongoing forum to promote defense collaboration between the two countries. Brazil’s emergence as South America’s leading power is cause for the U.S. to reexamine the bilateral relationship and study areas where it can be strengthened.

DIIG Current Issues No. 28: Defense Industrial Policy the Iranian Way

Mon, 26 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0400

In February 2012, the Islamic Republic of Iran celebrated the 33rd anniversary of the Islamic Revolution with the unveiling of new defense acquisition programs and the launch of a spy satellite.

DIIG Current Issues No. 27: Internal R&D Productivity in Aerospace and Defense

gsanders — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0500

In an environment of declining defense spending by what have traditionally been the largest customers on both sides of the Atlantic, aerospace and defense companies face difficult decisions on how to deploy their cash.

DIIG Current Issues No. 26: Framing Defense Cuts

Tue, 25 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0400

Since the crisis over America’s debt rating and the formation of the super committee, there has been a surge in debate about how to reduce defense spending. Despite talk of “all options being on the table,” the lack of both breadth and depth in active proposals is remarkable. Efficiency initiatives and across-the-board cuts have been advanced as solutions.

DIIG Current Issues No. 25: ASEAN Defense Industry Collaboration

gsanders — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0400

In February 2011 the defense ministers of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) agreed to promote five areas of security cooperation: maritime security, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, peacekeeping operations, counter terrorism, and military medicine.

DIIG Current Issues No. 24: India's Defense Spending and Military Modernization

gsanders — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 00:00:00 -0400

Photo left: INDIA (Jan. 20, 2010) - U.S. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates receives a tour of the Taj Mahal in Agra, India. (DoD photo by U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Jerry Morrison)

DIIG Current Issues No. 23: U.S. Military Aid and Sales to Egypt

gsanders — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 00:00:00 -0400

The recent popular protests in Egypt, and the concurrent images of U.S.-made tanks and tear gas canisters, have brought scrutiny upon the historical and remarkably constant U.S. military assistance to Egypt.

DIIG Current Issues No. 22: Rare Earth Elements

gsanders — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 00:00:00 -0400

On 23rd September 2010, exports of rare earth elements (REEs) from China to Japan apparently stopped due to a dispute over maritime boundaries. This use of economic leverage to influence policy raised concerns about the impact of China’s strategic hold on these precious metals.

DIIG Current Issues No. 21: The Time Is Right for Export Control Reform

Mon, 17 May 2010 00:00:00 -0400

Over the last year, a flurry of meetings, papers, announcements, and legislative initiatives has focused on an issue area that has bedeviled policy makers and industry officials alike for decades: how to reform the U.S. Government’s “byzantine amalgam of authorities, roles, and missions” relating to export controls.

DIIG Current Issues No. 20: Integrating COTS: Lessons from Recent Ground Vehicle Acquisitions

gsanders — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 00:00:00 -0500

Defense systems are rarely acquired rapidly.

DIIG Current Issues No. 19: Fixing the Shortfalls: Defense Budget Trends and Long Term Impact

Mon, 14 Dec 2009 00:00:00 -0500

Defense budgets run in cycles, with periods of increase followed by periods of decline. For years, defense analysts have been predicting that the defense budget is coming down, but it has been on an historic run for the past decade. The FY 2009 Department of Defense (DoD) Authorization Act was 65 percent higher than in FY 2001 in real dollars.

DIIG Current Issues No. 18: Addressing Concerns About US Foreign Policy Outsourcing

gsanders — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 00:00:00 -0500

In the past weeks, the criticism about America’s foreign policy being outsourced to the private sector has resurfaced with a vengeance. This is an important issue to raise: not only do the Defense Department, State Department, and Agency for International Development (AID) represent US interests overseas, they also account for some 70 percent of all US government contracts.

DIIG Current Issues No. 17: Contracting for Operations in Iraq and Afghanistan

gsanders — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0500

The U.S. government has spent $153B in 2008 dollars on contracts in Iraq, Afghanistan, and their neighborhoods since fiscal year (FY) 2001, according to the Federal Procurement Data System (FPDS). In June 2009, 194,000 contractors were working for the U.S. government in Iraq and Afghanistan, compared to 190,000 U.S. troops. At least 1,200 contractors have been killed in the two wars.

DIIG Current Issues No. 16: Wrestling with Complexity in Defense Programs

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0500

In recent years, defense programs are more ambitious than any previously attempted. They promise unprecedented capability through integrating groundbreaking technologies into network-centric systems-of-systems, such as the Army’s Future Combat System (FCS) and the Coast Guard’s Integrated Deepwater System (IDS).

DIIG Current Issues No. 15: Implications of European Defense Acquisition Reform

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0400

The European defense market is undergoing profound changes. Four distinct trends are altering the landscape of European defense acquisition, with some of them underscoring the shift of defense matters from national capitals towards the European Union (EU). First, participation in international operations is substantially affecting acquisition priorities.

DIIG Current Issues No. 14: Unmanned Aircraft Systems, 2010-2050

gsanders — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0400

Given the value of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) to provide Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) and firepower without placing warfighters at undue risk, these systems are receiving much attention and growing increasingly sophisticated and versatile. The U.S.

DIIG Current Issues No. 13: Measuring the Defense Industrial Value of Acquisition Programs

Mon, 03 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0400

The primary objective of defense acquisition is to provide the warfighter with adequate equipment in a timely and economical way. A cornerstone in this process is the availability of a reliable, cost-effective, and sufficient industrial base that can develop, produce, and provide the products and services required by the Department of Defense (DoD). Section 2440 of U.S.

DIIG Current Issues No. 12: U.S. Competitiveness in the Fighter Aircraft Export Market

sherry — Tue, 26 May 2009 00:00:00 -0400

In his April 6, 2009 address, Sec. Gates discussed his vision for the F-22 “Raptor” and the F-35 “Lightning II”, two of the U.S. aerospace industry’s most prominent programs.

DIIG Current Issues No. 11: Aerospace & Defense: Inventing and Selling the Next Generation

Wed, 13 May 2009 00:00:00 -0400

“For innovation success,” wrote MIT researcher Michael Schrage, “do not follow the money.” He argued that while we can easily measure inputs such as research and development (R&D) spending, outputs and outcomes, such as R&D productivity or customers won or retained, tell us much more about the ability to innovate successfully.

DIIG Current Issues No. 10: Tracking U.S. Arms Sales to Iraq

Mon, 13 Apr 2009 00:00:00 -0400

On July 25, 2008, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) notified Congress of the possible sale of six C-130J-30 aircraft and support systems to Iraq. DSCA has since issued 11 press releases alerting of follow-up sales. With the potential to total more than $14 billion in revenue for U.S.

DIIG Current Issues No. 9: An Economic Overview of U.S. Arms Sales

Tue, 07 Apr 2009 00:00:00 -0400

In the past two decades, the U.S. has exported arms worth well over $10 billion annually (in 2008 dollars). Tightly regulated by the government, these sales remain controversial. Advocates cite benefits such as political influence, greater interoperability with allies, a more resilient defense-industrial base, and cost savings from economies of scale.

DIIG Current Issues No. 8: The President's Government Contracting Review

Mon, 30 Mar 2009 00:00:00 -0400

Sound companies always benefit from smarter customers.

DIIG Current Issues No. 7: Case Study: The Drivers of a Successful COTS Acquisition

Fri, 13 Mar 2009 00:00:00 -0400

The efforts of the U.S. Department of Defense to match equipment acquisitions strategy with policy choices and effectively manage ongoing programs have repeatedly made news as the Obama administration attempts to define its priorities and identify programs that provide value to the warfighter and the taxpayer.

DIIG Current Issues No. 6: The VH-71 and the Industrial Base

Fri, 06 Mar 2009 00:00:00 -0500

The VH-71 was one of the first high-profile US acquisition programs in which European firms played a prominent part. By allowing foreign manufacturers to participate, the Defense Department can get the benefits of a broader supplier universe, including greater competition and innovation.

DIIG Current Issues No. 5: The cost of cutting defense acquisition

Fri, 30 Jan 2009 00:00:00 -0500

Defense acquisition cuts carry risks. Budget decisions must be consistent with a clear defense strategy. In particular, operational, financial and industrial-base factors have to be considered before opting to reduce defense acquisition spending.

DIIG Current Issues No. 4: European Defense Spending Outlook, 2009

Wed, 21 Jan 2009 00:00:00 -0500

The turmoil in the global economic system has placed defense budgets under scrutiny in many European countries, and responses have been varied. We examine recent developments in the five major European defense spenders:

DIIG Current Issues No. 3: Defense Economics

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 00:00:00 -0500

While the U.S. economy slowed in the third calendar quarter, defense spending leaped, far outstripping other government agencies. It is tempting to draw the conclusion that defense spending is somehow not aligned with the rest of the economy. Here is why that conclusion is incorrect.

DIIG Current Issues No. 2: Small Businesses

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0400

The Washington Post found that many contractors are misclassified as small businesses in the Federal Procurement Data Service. We provide additional information of the scope and nature of this problem.

DIIG Current Issues No. 1: Cost-Plus Contracts

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0400

For the first time in the history of televised presidential debates, contracting has moved to the stage. During the first Presidential debate, one candidate stated that to get defense costs under control, "we have to do away with cost-plus contracts.".

In addition to this report there is a "Cost-plus Contracting Narrated Slide Show"