2019财年、2020财年、美国空军采办部、两年期报告、最终报告（英）-61正式版

DEPARTMENTOFTHEAIRFORCE

ACQUISITION

BIENNIALREPORT2019+2020

BUILDING

THEDIGITAL

FORCE

InnovationhaspercolatedacrosstheDepartmentoftheAirForce,anditisseennowheremorethanintheAcquisitionEnterprise.FiscalYears2019and2020werebanneryearsforacquisition.Evenin

themidstofapandemic,theacquisitionteamwasdedicatedtoourmissionandfoundinnovativewaystocontinueessentialDepartmentwork.Wehavelearnedtodelivercapabilitytothewarfighterfasterthaneverbyempoweringourworkforce.Infact,wemetour“CenturyChallenge”goalinMay2019byremoving100yearsfromprogramschedules.WehavedriventheDigitalEngineeringimperativeintoleadingprograms.Weexecutedthefirstend-to-enddemonstrationoftheAdvancedBattleManagementSystem–shootingdownacruisemissilewithahypersonicvelocitygun.Wearepushingtheboundariesoncontainerizationandsoftwarein-flightuploads,increasingmissionsystemdecisionspeed.WeevenhelpedstandupthenascentUnitedStatesSpaceForce,the6thbranchoftheArmedServices.

ThisbiennialreportprovidesaglimpseoftheincredibleworktheDepartmentoftheAirForce’sAcquisitionEnterpriseaccomplishedinFY19andFY20.First,weprovideahigh-leveloverviewofourbudget,programs,andpersonnel.Next,wediscussourfocusonrecruiting,hiring,developing,andrewardingadiverseandinnovativeworkforceintheCuttingEdgeTalentsection.TheCuttingEdgeofDesignandTechnologysectionhighlightsseveralofoursignificantadvancesachievedoverthelasttwoyearsinrapidlydevelopingandintegratinginnovativetechnologies,bothDefenseandcommercial,ontomilitarysystemswithunmatchedagility.Weshowcasehighpriorityinitiativesandprogramsthatwillmakeapermanentimpactonthewaywe

dobusinessacrosstheDepartment,includingtheAdvancedBattleManagementSystemandSustainment.Thisreportalsoprovidesadditionalacquisitionsuccesses,detailsofacquisitionprogramsacrosstheAirForceandSpaceForceportfolios,andanoverviewoftheperformanceoftheAcquisitionEnterprise.Lastly,wealsoputaspotlightontheincredibleworkoftheDepartmentoftheAirForceAcquisitionCOVID-19TaskForce.

2 DEPARTMENTOFTHEAIRFORCEACQUISITION BIENNIALREPORT // 2019+2020 3

MISSION,VISION,PRIORITIES

06

ACQUISITIONBUDGET

08

COST,SCHEDULE,&PERFORMANCE

10

PERSONNELBYTHENUMBERS

14

CUTTINGEDGETALENT

16

CUTTINGEDGEOFDESIGN

&TECHNOLOGY

20

ADVANCEDBATTLEMANAGEMENT

SYSTEM(ABMS)

30

ACQUISITIONSUCCESSES

38

GLOBALPOWER

40

GLOBALREACH

60

INFORMATIONDOMINANCE

70

SPACESUPERIORITY

82

SUSTAINMENT

104

COVID-19RESPONSE

106

PERFORMANCEOFTHE

108

ENTERPRISE

GLOSSARY

118

CONTRACTINGDEFINITIONS

119

TABLEOFCONTENTS

DEPARTMENTOFTHEAIRFORCEACQUISITION

DEPARTMENTOFTHEAIRFORCEACQUISITION

MISSION:

Cost-effectivelymodernizetoincreasethelethalityoftheforce.

VISION:

Rapidlydeliverenduring,world-classcapabilitiestoassureair,

space,andcyberspacedominanceforthenationandourallies.

PRIORITIES:

Keepprogramswithincost,schedule,andperformanceparameters.

Tailortheacquisitionprocesstoprovidecapabilitytothewarfighter.

Developtheacquisitionworkforceanddelegateauthoritytothelowestappropriatelevel.

Driveinnovationtosecureourfuture.

Strengthenouralliancesbecausewearestrongertogether.

BIENNIALREPORT // 2019+2020 7

ACQUISITION

FY19+

BUDGET:

FY20

6ACQUISITIONCATEGORIES:Acquisitionprogramsareorganizedintothree

acquisitioncategories-orandthreeACATs

FY19FUNDINGBYACAT(RDT&E/PROCUREMENT)

APPROPRIATION:

FY19FUNDING

$14.9B

$4.75B

$

$25.7B

$

PROCUREMENT

ACATI

3.1B

ACATIII

31.1B

$30.4B

ACATII

*OTHER

RDT&E

ACATI:Eventualexpenditureofmorethan$480MinRDT&E,ormorethan$2.79Binprocurement,inFY2014dollars

ACATII:Eventualexpenditureofmorethan$185MinRDT&Eormorethan$835MinprocurementinFY2014dollars

ACATIII:DoesnotmeetthecriteriaofACATIorACATII

BCATI:Expectedtotalbudgetauthorityovertheperiodofthecurrent

FutureYearsDefensePrograminexcessof$250M

BCATII:ExpectedtotalbudgetauthorityovertheperiodofthecurrentFutureYearsDefensePrograminexcessof$50M

BCATIII:DoesnotmeetthecriteriaforBCATIorBCATII

533

FY19PROGRAMS

ACATI–42

ACATII–39

ACATIII–367

BCATI–2

BCATII–8

BCATIII–75

522

FY20PROGRAMS

ACATI–34

ACATII–36

ACATIII–367

BCATI–2

BCATII–8

BCATIII–75

FY20FUNDINGBYACAT(RDT&E/PROCUREMENT)

FY20FUNDING

APPROPRIATION:

$15.9B

$4.4B

$

$26.8B

$

PROCUREMENT

ACATI

2.8B

ACATIII

38.9B

$35.3B

ACATII

*OTHER

RDT&E

*Includes:F-35,classifiedprograms(includingB-21),scienceandtechnologyefforts,pre-acquisitionactivities,acquisitionworkforce,etc.

FY19FUNDING:

FY20FUNDING:

EducationandTraining

$432M

EducationandTraining

$464M

SpecialOperations

$1.14B

SpecialOperations

$1.12B

PROGRAMSBYACQUISITIONCATEGORY

FY19FY20

BCATIII

BCATII

BCATI

ACATIII

ACATII

ACATI

NUMBEROFPROGRAMS0

100

200

300

AgileCombatSupport

$8.06B

AgileCombatSupport

$9.20B

.CAPABILITIES

CyberspaceSuperiority

$1.06B

CyberspaceSuperiority

$936M

PersonnelRecovery

$1.37B

PersonnelRecovery

$1.19B

CommandandControl

$1.29B

CommandandControl

$1.47B

GlobalIntegratedISR

$2.71B

GlobalIntegratedISR

$2.60B

GlobalPrecisionAttack

$9.93B

GlobalPrecisionAttack

$12.36B

SpecialAccess

$10.21B

SpecialAccess

$11.16B

AirSuperiority

$2.94B

AirSuperiority

$3.84B

RapidGlobalMobility

$4.62B

RapidGlobalMobility

$4.23B

8 DEPARTMENTOFTHEAIRFORCEACQUISITION BIENNIALREPORT // 2019+2020 9

COST,SCHEDULE,

&PERFORMANCE AGGREGATE

PERFORMANCEDATA

ORIGINALBASELINECHARTS–ACATI

TheDepartmentoftheAirForcebalancesprogramcost,schedule,andperformancetomeetwarfighterneedsandoptimizetaxpayerdollars.Acquisitionprogramsareorganizedintothreecategories(ACATs)basedonlevelofspending.Baselinesareusedtoshowincreasesordecreasesovertime.Thesebaselinesprovideameasureofaccountability.

CURRENTBASELINECHARTS–ACATI

ACATI-COSTPERFORMANCE

ORIGINALBASELINE

9

21

8

11

SEP

11

25

2018

7

19

SEP2019

15

SEP2020

UnderCost

Unbaselined

OverCost

PROGRAMSOVERORIGINALCOSTBASELINE(%GROWTH)

2020VALUE

2019VALUE

2018VALUE

F-15EPAWSS

18%

24%

14%

ICBMFUZEMOD

16%

1%

2%

GPSIIIF

6%

-1%

N/A

HH-60W

5%

2%

-4%

OCX

3%

3%

3%

GPSIII

3%

3%

5%

C-130J

1%

1%

0%

FAB-TCPT

1%

-6%

-7%

APT

1%

0%

N/A

SDBII

1%

-15%

-14%

AWACSBlock40/45Upgrade

0.2%

-2%

-3%

ACATI-SCHEDULEPERFORMANCE

ORIGINALBASELINE

8

8

21

SEP

20

2018

22

12

12

15

8

SEP2019

SEP2020

OnScheduleUnbaselinedOverSchedule

PROGRAMSOVERORIGINALSCHEDULEBASELINE(INMONTHS)

2020VALUE

2019VALUE

2018VALUE

KC-46A

49

34

20

SDBII

42

37

30

GPSIII

40

40

40

F-15EPAWSS

33

16

1

AMRAAM

24

24

24

FAB-TCPT

21

18*

96

ICBMFuzeMod

14

9

0

B61Mod12LEPTKA

12

4

2

SBIRSBlockBuy

12

12

12

JASSMER

11

11

11

VC-25B

9

9

N/A

OCX

7

0

0

*Originalbaselinewasreset

ACATI-COSTPERFORMANCE

CURRENTBASELINE

9

8

21

SEP

10

7

7

2018

25

20

SEP2019

20

SEP2020

UnderCost

Unbaselined

OverCost

PROGRAMSOVERCURRENTCOSTBASELINE(%GROWTH)

2020VALUE

2019VALUE

2018VALUE

ICBMFuzeMod

16%

1%

2%

GPSIIIF

6%

-1%

N/A

FAB-TCPT

3%

-4%

-5%

SDBII

3%

5%

5%

OCX

3%

3%

3%

APT

1%

0%

N/A

F-15EPAWSS

0.1%*

24%

14%

*Currentbaselinewasupdated

ACATI-SCHEDULEPERFORMANCE

CURRENTBASELINE

20

26

28

SEP

2 2018

7

6

21

8

8

SEP2019

SEP2020

OnScheduleUnbaselinedOverSchedule

PROGRAMSOVERCURRENTSCHEDULEBASELINE(INMONTHS)

2020VALUE

2019VALUE

2018VALUE

B-2DMSMod

33

33

6

KC-46A

15

0*

6

ICBMFuzeMod

14

9

0

B61Mod12LEPTKA

12

4

2

SBIRSBlockBuy

12

12

12

VC-25B

9

9

N/A

OCX

7

0

0

*Currentbaselinewasupdated

10 DEPARTMENTOFTHEAIRFORCEACQUISITION BIENNIALREPORT // 2019+2020 11

COST,SCHEDULE

&PERFORMANCE AGGREGATE

PERFORMANCEDATA

CURRENTBASELINECHARTS–ACATII

ACATII-COSTPERFORMANCE

13

19

14

12

SEP

10

8

2018

15

7

10

SEP2019

SEP2020

OverCost

UnderCost

Unbaselined/NoData

PROGRAMSOVERORIGINALCOSTBASELINE(%GROWTH)

2020VALUE2019VALUE2018VALUE

ACATII-SCHEDULEPERFORMANCE

5

10

10

5

5

SEP2018

22

24

18

SEP2019

SEP2020

OverSchedule

OnSchedule

Unbaselined/NoData

PROGRAMSOVERCURRENTSCHEDULEBASELINE(INMONTHS)

2020VALUE

2019VALUE2018VALUE

ACATI-TECHNICALPERFORMANCE

ORIGINAL&CURRENTBASELINE

27

30

32

SEP

2018

8

21

9

SEP2019

SEP2020

WillMeet/MetKey

Unbaselined

PerformanceParameters

TheACATIIportfoliodoesnothavesufficientkeyperformanceparameterdatatoperformayearlyanalysis.

DuetoalackofhistoricaldataACAT

programscannotbetrackedtotheiroriginalbaselines

TheACATIIIprogramsdonothavesufficientbaselinesordatatoperformayearlycost,schedule,orperformanceanalysis.

AdvancedTargetingPod

169%

169%

0%

ModernizationProgram

AdvancedTargetingPod-Sensor

42%

43%

0%

Enhancement

F-15InfraredSearchandTrack

39%

5%

0%

QF-16FullScaleAerialTarget

18%

11%

-10%

F-15AdvancedDisplayComputer

13%

6%

7%

ProcessorII

LGM-30GFlightTestTelemetry

9%

9%

0%

andTerminationSystem

F-15ERadarModernization

5%

5%

-9%

Program

C-130JBURetrofit

5%

5%

0%

E-3DMSReplacementof

2%

2%

2%

AvionicsforGlobalOps&Nav

B-2FlexStrikePhase1

1%

10%

10%

LGM-30GFlightTestTelemetry

18

18

18

andTerminationSystem

B-2FlexStrikePhase1

12

8

8

F-15ERadarModernization

9

N/A

N/A

Program

F-16ActiveElectronically

8

0

0

ScannedArrayRadar

E-3DMSReplacementofAvion-

7

6

18

icsforGlobalOps&Nav

ORIGINALBASELINE

Theoriginalbaselinereflectsthecost,schedule,andperformanceparametersasapprovedbythemilestonedecisionauthorityintheprogram’sfirstacquisitionprogrambaseline.Cost,scheduleandperformanceparameterswillonlyberevisedinthecaseofrecertificationpostcriticalNunn-McCurdybreachorCriticalChange.

CURRENTBASELINE

Thecurrentbaselinereflectsthecurrentcost,schedule,andperformanceparametersasapprovedbythemilestonedecisionauthorityinthecurrentacquisitionprogrambaseline.Thecurrentbaselinediffersfromtheoriginalbaselineasaresultofupdatesmadeatmilestonesordecisionpoints,majorprogramrestructuresorbreaches.

12 DEPARTMENTOFTHEAIRFORCEACQUISITION BIENNIALREPORT // 2019+2020 13

PERSONNEL:

BYTHENUMBERS

54,000TOTALFORCEPERSONNEL:

28%

63

%

*

%

FIELDS

25

72%

ONLYCIVILIAN+MILITARY

%

ENGINEERING

17

CIVILIAN

EDUCATION:HIGHESTDEGREECOMPLETED

MILITARY

CAREER

ASSOCIATE’S/PROFESSIONAL/HIGHSCHOOL:10%

CONTRACTING

BACHELOR’S:36%

%

%

MASTER’S:50%

CONTRACTOR

21

DOCTORATE:4%

20

16%

PROGRAM

“OurDepartmentoftheAir

WORKFORCE

MANAGEMENT

Forceacquisitionprofessionals

COST-ESTIMATING

7%

14%

areofficiallynextlevel—

OTHER

keepingnationalsecurity

9

strong,nowandinthefuture.”

LOGISTICS

%

%

TEST&EVALUATION

—DR.WILLIAMROPER

8

ASSISTANTSECRETARYOFTHEAIRFORCE(ACQUISITION,

TECHNOLOGY&LOGISTICS),February2018-January2021

FINANCIALMANAGEMENT/

WHEREWEARE:

PROGRAMEXECUTIVE

OFFICERLOCATIONS

OTHERPROGRAM/

ACQUISITIONLOCATIONS

WRIGHT-PATTERSONAFB

HANSCOMAFB

PEOAGILECOMBATSUPPORT

PEOMOBILITY&TRAININGAIRCRAFT

PEODIGITAL

PEOBOMBER

PEOPRESIDENTIALANDEXECUTIVE

PEOCOMMAND,CONTROL,

PEOFIGHTER&ADVANCED

AIRLIFT

COMMUNICATIONS,

AIRCRAFT

TECHNOLOGYEXECUTIVEOFFICER

INTELLIGENCE&

PEOISR&SOF

RAPIDSUSTAINMENTOFFICE

NETWORKS

PEONUCLEARCOMMAND,

OVERSEASLOCATIONS

CONTROL,&

LONDON,ENGLAND

COMMUNICATIONS

SANTIAGO,CHILE

JOINTBASE

TOKYO,JAPAN

ANACOSTIA-BOLLING

DAFRAPIDCAPABILITIESOFFICE

PEOCOMBAT&MISSIONSUPPORT

ARLINGTON,VA

J-PEOF-35

LOSANGELESAFB

PEOSPACESYSTEMS

PEOSPACEDEVELOPMENTCORPS

PEOSPACEPRODUCTIONCORPS

PEOSPACEENTERPRISECORPS

KIRTLANDAFB

MAXWELLAFB,GUNTERANNEX

EGLINAFB

SPACERAPIDCAPABILITIESOFFICE

PEOBUSINESS&ENTERPRISESYSTEMS

PEOWEAPONS

PEOSTRATEGICSYSTEMS

14 DEPARTMENTOFTHEAIRFORCEACQUISITION BIENNIALREPORT // 2019+2020 15

CUTTINGEDGETALENT

Cultivatingalethal,agileforcerequiresmorethanjustnewtechnologiesandposturechanges.Itdependsontheabilityofourwarfighters,includingouracquisitionworkforce,tointegratenewcapabilities,adaptwarfightingapproaches,andchangebusinesspracticestoachievemissionsuccess.

Ouracquisitionworkforceiscomprisedof54,000military,civilian,andcontractorbusinessandtechnicalprofessionalsadeptatmanagingallphasesofthesystemlifecyclewiththeagilityrequiredbytoday’stechnology,trends,andthreats.TheDepartmentoftheAirForce’sfocusonrecruiting,hiring,developing,andrewardingadiverseandinnovativeworkforcethatleveragesdifferentskills,backgrounds,experiences,attributes,andperspectivesensureswearepoisedtocompetewithouradversaries,nowandinthefuture.

BIENNIALREPORT // 2019+2020 17

RECRUITING

Competitionwithnear-peeradversariesforthenation’stoptalentcontinuestodriveouruseofstrategicandmodernrecruitingmethodstoaccessabroadtalentpool.Byusingsocialmediaandthecommercialmarketspacetoattracttalent,wewereabletokeeppeopleinterestedinDepartmentoftheAirForcecareeropportunities.Duringtheseunprecedentedtimeswhentechnicaltalentisatapremium,weleveragedDigitalHiringProjectsinlieuofin-person“brickandmortar”recruitingevents.Forexample,inJuly2020,theAirForceCivilianService(AFCS)partneredwiththeAirForceLifeCycleManagementCenter(AFLCMC)tosupportanF-35LightningIIJointProgramOfficehiringeventbyfindingsuitablecandidatesfor

76hard-to-fillAirForceandNavypositionsformultiplelocationsusingonlyadigitalpresence.Arecordnumber1,743candidatesregisteredonlinefortheeventinthefirstthreeweeks.Therecordbreakingnumbersallowedrecruiterstofocusonthelargepoolofqualifiedcandidatesattheirdisposalpriortoinitiatingtheinterviewprocess.Wecontinuetousethemanymoderncapabilitiesavailable,butrarelyused,acrossthefederalworkforce.

HIRING

Asweenhanceourabilitytoattractthetalentrequiredtofuelourinnovativeculturewehavealsoembracedmultiplehiringstrategiesthatfullyleverageauthoritiesprovidedtohirethistalent.Overthelasttwoyears,weusedthestudentdirecthireauthority,launchingastrongcollegeinternprogramthatbroughtus500internsayearwithafocusonScience,Technology,Engineering,andMath.ThisprogramalsoallowedustobuildourPalaceAcquirerecentgraduateprogramtohire1,159recentgraduatesintofivedifferentacquisitioncareerfieldsinthislastyear.DuringFY19andFY20,theDepartmentoftheAirForceusedthevastarrayofExpeditedandDirectHireAuthoritiestoacquireacquisitionprofessionaltalent.InFY20,wehired8,583professionalsundervarioushiringauthorities,asignificantincreasefromprioryears.

DEVELOPING

Developingboththetechnicalandleadershipskillsofourworkforceisthefoundationofstayingrelevantintoday’senvironment.Overthelastyear,inconcertwiththeOfficeoftheSecretaryofDefenseHumanCapitalInitiativesoffice,wemadesignificantprogressinre-designingouracquisitioncertificationprocesses

andtraining.ThenewframeworkwilllaunchinCY21andtransformourabilitytokeepourworkforcerelevant.

TheDefenseAcquisitionWorkforceDevelopmentFund(DAWDF)isacriticaltool.WeusedDAWDFfundstodevelopanddeliver84trainingcoursesthroughtheAirForceInstituteofTechnology,quicklyreactingtotheneedforenhancedskillsets.Wealsousedthesefundstoenhanceworkforceeducationbyprovidingtuitionassistanceto1,443memberspursuingMastersleveldegreesand19memberspursuingPhDlevelprograms.

OneofouruniquedevelopmentalofferingsistheEducationwithIndustry(EWI)program.Duringthis10-monthexperience,acquisitionworkforcemembersareimmersedwithindustrypartners,gaininginsighttothelatestcorporatetrends,developingbusinessacumen,andunderstandingprivateindustrybestpractices.EWIpartnersincludetraditionaldefensecompanies,softwareanddigital-focusedcompanies,venturecapitalfirms,andsmallbusinesses.Thecurrentembeddedclassconsistsof77fellowsacross29careerfields,locatedat55companiesnationwide.

REWARDING

Werecognizedandrewardedourtalentedworkforcethroughformalandinformalawardprograms,incombinationwiththeacquisitiondemonstrationprogramannualcontributionandcompensationprocess.TheAcquisitionDemonstrationprogram

DEPARTMENTOFDEFENSEACQUISITIONAWARDS

TODEPARTMENTOFTHEAIRFORCEACQUISITIONTEAMS

9

TEAM

AWARD

LaunchEnterpriseTeam

DavidPackardExcellenceinAcquisitionAward

01

(LosAngelesAFB,CA)

AirForcePitchDayTeam

DavidPackardExcellenceinAcquisitionAward

2

(Pentagon,Washington,D.C.)

KesselRunTeam

SoftwareInnovationTeamAward

(Boston,MA)

0

TEAM

AWARD

CloudOne(HNII)andPlatformOne

DavidPackardExcellenceinAcquisitionAward

2

(HNCP)Team(HanscomAFB,MA)

0

CloudOne(HNII)andPlatformOne

SoftwareInnovationTeamAward

(HNCP)Team(HanscomAFB,MA)

2

DefenseProductionAct(DPA)

TitleIIIExecutiveAgentProgramOffice

DavidPackardExcellenceinAcquisitionAward

Team(Wright-PattersonAFB,OH)

GroundBasedStrategicDeterrent

DavidPackardExcellenceinAcquisitionAward

ProgramOffice(HillAFB,UT)

DepartmentoftheAirForce

AcquisitionCOVID-19TaskforceFlexibilityinContractingTeamAward(DAFACT)(Washington,D.C.)

continuestobetheacquisition

FUTURE

andprofessionaldevelopmentas

community’spersonnelperformance

TheDepartmentoftheAir

partofoureverydayroutine.We

programofchoice,covering41%

Forcemustcontinuetodrive

fosteredandcultivatedadiverse

oftheacquisitionworkforce,which

transformationinhowwerecruit,

andhighperformingworkforce

amountstoallbutourbargainunit

hire,develop,andrewardcutting

setonaccomplishingthemission

employees.Throughtheacquisition

edgetalenttosustaintheneeded

requirementsoftheNational

demonstrationprocess,werewarded

acquisitionworkforce.InFY19and

DefenseStrategy.Ourdiverseand

ouremployeesbasedontheirlevel

FY20,wecultivatedworkforcetalent

innovativeacquisitionworkforce

ofcontributiontothemissionrelative

byemployinginnovativetools,using

membersaretheonesthatgetthe

totheircompensation,allowingusto

stateofthearttechnology,relying

jobdoneandaretrulyessentialfor

rewardthebehaviorsandoutcomes

ondata-drivenapproaches,and

warfightingsuccess.

wevalue.

encouragingeducation,training

18 DEPARTMENTOFTHEAIRFORCEACQUISITION BIENNIALREPORT // 2019+2020 19

CUTTINGEDGEOFDESIGN&TECHNOLOGY

Technologyinnovationisthebattlefieldoftoday.AcrosstheDepartmentoftheAirForcewearedevelopinginnovativetechnologiesmorerapidlyandintegratingleadingtechnologies,bothDefenseandcommercial,ontomilitarysystemswithunmatchedagility.CompetingacrosstheentiretechnologyecosystemisanewchallengefortheDepartment—especiallywithapproximately80%ofournation’sresearchanddevelopmentnowcommercial—butonewe’vemadesignificantprogressinmeeting.DuringFY19andFY20,wetooksignificantstridestowardscreatingthatspeedandagilityusingadvancesindigitalacquisitionsandcommercialventuresthatarepoisedtochangethefaceofweaponsystemprocurementinwayswehaveneverseenbefore—departingfromtwentiethcenturyanalogacquisitionstrategies,toleadingtwenty-firstcenturydigitalacquisitionapproaches.

20 CUTTINGEDGEOFDESIGN&TECHNOLOGY BIENNIALREPORT // 2019+2020 21

DigitalTrinity

Digitalengineering,agilesoftware,andopenarchitectures—thenew“digitaltrinity”ofAirForceandSpaceForceacquisitions—holdthekeystocreatingthespeedandagilityneededtocompeteontheinnovationbattlefield.TheDigitalTrinitydoesn’tjustbuildbettersystems,itenablestheDepartmenttobuildsystemsbetter.InFY19andFY20,wetookmanymajorstepstoembracethisdigitalreality.

DIGITALENGINEERINGANDMANAGEMENTDigitalengineeringinvolvescreatinganearlyperfectvirtualmodelandenvironmenttolearnandexperimentsothatthephysicalsystemisfullyintegratedandtestedbeforeitisproduced.Digitalengineeringismorethanjustusingcomputers—itinvolvescreatinga

digitalthreadconnectingdigital“twin”modelstomakeauthoritativevirtualizationareality.Digitalengineeringprovidesustheabilitytocreate,modify,test,assemble,andexperimentinthevirtualworldbeforeeverbendingmetalinthephysicalworld.

InFY19-FY20,theDepartmentoftheAirForceimplementeddigitalengineeringintheacquisitionprocess,notonlyindesign,butinweaponsystemsspanningtheentirelifecycle.

TheeT-7ARedHawkaircraftwasdesignedfortheAirForceusingthedigitalapproach.Byembracingmodel-basedengineeringand3Ddesigntools,assemblyhourswerereducedby80%andsoftwaredevelopmenttimewascutin

half.Theaircraftmovedfromcomputerscreentofirstflightinjust36months.

TheNextGenerationAirDominance(NGAD)programisemployingdigitalengineeringtoreplaceonce-in-a-generation,mass-producedfighterswithsmallerbatchesofiteratively-upgradedplatformsofmultipletypes.Thisapproachtakesacuefromthedigitaltransformation

oftheautomotiveindustry,usinghigh-fidelitymodelstotroubleshootdesign,assembly,maintenance,andsustainmentbeforephysicalsystemsexist.

TheGroundBasedStrategicDeterrent(GBSD)programisformalizingtheuseofmodelstoinformprogramdecisionmaking,andwillultimately

producea“digitaltwin”foreveryGBSDmissilesortie,launchfacility,andcommandandcontrolelement.TheuseofdigitalengineeringhasalreadymadeasignificantimpactontheGBSDprogram.Forexample,theDepartmentanalyzedover6billionGBSDvariantdesignsdigitallypriortomakingaselection.GBSD’simplementationofallelementsoftheDigitalTrinitywillreducecostsandimplementfasterdesigncycles,ensuringtheland-basedelementofournucleartriadisathreatfor

decadestocome.

Digitalengineeringandmanagementisnotlimitedtonewacquisitions.WeimplementeddigitalengineeringfortheA-10

EnhancedWingAssembliesandATTACKwingprograms,demonstratingthesignificantvaluetheseprinciplesbringtolegacyplatforms.Implementingdigitalengineeringresulted

in236,500operationalhoursreturnedtotheA-10fleetthroughindividualaircraftmaintenanceassessmentsbasedonriskanalysismethods

pioneeredbytheorganicA-10Structuresteam.Thesetoolshavetheabilitytoensureairworthiness,safety,andaffordabilityoftheA-10fleetinto2030andbeyond.

AGILESOFTWAREDEVELOPMENTWithinthedefenseacquisitionprocess,alinear,requirementsdocument-drivenapproachhasbeentheacceptedstandardformanyyears.However,tomove

atthespeedofrelevanceandameliorateriskatallphasesofasystem’slifecycle,softwareacquisitiondemandsamore

22 CUTTINGEDGEOFDESIGN&TECHNOLOGY BIENNIALREPORT // 2019+2020 23

effectiveparadigmshiftawayfromtraditional“waterfall”models.Agilesoftwaredevelopmentisamodernizedapproachmeldingrequirements,solutions,cross-functionalcollaboration,andenduser-focusedco-creation.Thetouchstonesofadaptiveplanning,evolutionarydevelopment,earlydelivery,andcontinualimprovementenableprojectteamsandorganizationstomorereadilyrespondtochange.

Securityiscriticalincapabilitydevelopmentandenduserapplications.UsingtheDevelopmentSecurityOperations(DevSecOps)model,security

isintegratedintoproductlifecyclesfromdayone.Thisincludesautomatingsecurity“gates”and

containerization—ameansbywhichapackageofsoftwarecodecanruninstandardized,consistentfashiontoprotecttheecosystemandreducevulnerability.InFY19andFY20,theDepartmentof

theAirForcetookstepstowardsimplementingagilesoftwared