Department of Defense Field Activities as Enablers of the Defense Industrial Base for the Acquisition of Surface Navy Combat Systems

Abstract

A key role of Department of Defense (DoD) Field Activities is to ensure the United States government is a smart buyer for its systems by translating the warfighter's operational requirements into engineering requirements and then providing product definition and development process oversight. As the Navy transitions away from building large end-to-end, platform-unique systems toward cross-platform capabilities, the role of systems engineering working horizontally across surface ship Programs of Record (POR) has become increasingly critical. DoD Field Activities continue to focus primarily on the definition and design of capabilities needed to close warfighting gaps but with an increased emphasis on the identification of areas of commonality. Done properly, these cross-POR systems engineering efforts will increase commonality across platforms and increase the potential for competition for combat system components. Combined with a new acquisition approach, these increased competitive opportunities for a wider range of industry partners will result in reduced costs associated with providing combat systems that effectively and efficiently meet the warfighter's needs.