NMD System Innovation and Affordability

Money spent on Weapon systems always has another use alternative. The United States procures weapons system to provide for National Security, from which every citizen benefits. All weapons systems have affordability choices. Weapon system affordability always conjures up an old debate of 'cost effectiveness at the margin.' Defense, at the lowest cost, always applies to all DOD acquisition and technology programs. From DoD's perspective, the ballistic missile defense network has to deal with the offensive weapon's major advantage of surprise. The question of how few ABM defensive locations are necessary to defeat the adversary's threat, is an affordability tradeoff issue balanced by engineering and system technology capabilities. These tradeoffs stress the DOD Acquisition Reform initiative's underlying impetus on affordability. NMD Program Management implemented DOD acquisition reform initiatives and strategies to manage for acquisition excellence and program balance during NMD's capability development and deployment planning phase. This includes measurable (affordable) characteristics of key enabling technologies for cost breaking improvements in production, procurement, support, and operations. The DOD Program Manager should have latitude for initiatives in the way the defense capability is built so that it appears as a cost-effective and affordable technology solution to a given threat. There is no affordable solution to developing an ABM defense capability unless technology can develop one.
Prepared in collaboration with SAIC, CSF, Arlington, VA.