Acquisition Management for Systems-of-Systems: Analysis of Alternatives via Computational Exploratory Model

Abstract

The Department of Defense (DoD) has placed a growing emphasis on the pursuit of agile capabilities via net-centric operations. The breadth of technological advancements in communication and sensing has generated exciting opportunities for battlefield systems to exploit collaboration to multiple effects. In this setting, systems able to interoperate along several dimensions increase the efficiency of the overall system-of-systems (SoS) manifold. However, the manner in which these SoS are acquired (designed, developed, tested, and fielded) hasn't completely kept pace with the shift in operational doctrine. In our current project, we have attempted to unravel the layers of complexities in an SoS acquisition program, outline an acquisition strategy better suited for such programs, and develop an exploratory analysis tool to provide insights into the acquisition process.