Bad Idea: Maintaining Small Fleets of Air Force Aircraft
Small fleets of aircraft are eroding the purchasing power of the Air Force and limiting its ability to grow or even sustain the size of its current force.
Topic: Acquisition
Read the most recent CSIS research on Department of Defense acquisition policy and contracting trends.
Bad Idea: Assuming That Small Satellites Will Solve Big Satellites’ Problems
Every few years—and usually after a big satellite program in DoD runs into trouble—the popularity of small satellites resurges. Swapping big satellites for “smallsats,” however, will not address those problems.
Defense Acquisition Trends 2019: Topline DoD Trends
This year, CSIS will be analyzing the acquisition system through a series of topics papers. The first paper in our 2019 report series presents analysis of the topline DoD contracting trends, focusing on the defense acquisition system’s response to the 2018 NDS and new administration priorities.
U.S. Military Forces in FY 2020: The Struggle to Align Forces with Strategy
The future poses two risks to the administration’s plans: (1) the lack of real growth in future budgets will hamper the launching of further initiatives; and (2) a softening of public, and then political, support could undermine both budgets and an engagement strategy.
Acquisition of Software-Defined Hardware-Based Adaptable Systems
The increasing importance of software has created an opportunity for the Department of Defense (DoD) to harness innovation through the acquisition and modification of adaptable systems.
Coup-Proofing? Making Sense of Turkey’s S-400 Decision
On July 12, Turkey received the first elements of the S-400, a fourth-generation surface-to-air Russian missile system. Few recent weapon sales have been as geopolitically charged as this one. U.S. officials have threatened both military and economic sanctions should Turkey acquire the Russian system.
What Comes after the ‘Last Supper’?
Raytheon and United Technologies Corporation recently announced plans to merge into a new company, Raytheon Technologies, in 2020. While the past few years have seen significant industrial consolidation with the defense sector, the proposed Raytheon-UTC merger would be the largest defense merger in recent history.
What Comes after the ‘Last Supper’?
On June 10, 2019, Raytheon and United Technologies Corporation announced plans to merge into a new company, Raytheon Technologies, in the first half of 2020.
The Cycles of Defense Acquisition Reform and What Comes Next
Since peak defense funding periods do not always align with periods of war, it is not the dynamics of war alone that drive cyclical United States defense budgets but a mix of phenomena that includes economic cycles.
Beating the Air into Submission: Investing in Vertical Lift Modernization (Part II)
In our last paper, we discussed the current state of the U.S. vertical lift fleet and how past investment decisions helped shape this fleet. This brief will focus on future investments. Vertical lift aircraft are a substantial part of the U.S. military, both in terms of fleet size and investment levels. Helicopters and tiltrotors make…