Robust Weapon Simulations Hinge on Close Collaboration.

• Author: Kutner, Joshua A.
• Position: Use of simulation-based acquisition to sell weapons to military

Part of the new way of doing business at the Pentagon is to simulate the features and performances of weapon systems in computers before contractors actually bend metal. This method, known as simulation-based acquisition (SBA), has been successful for some of the Defense Department's more bankable programs, such as the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) and the DD-21 surface combatant. But unless the Pentagon changes the way it pays for systems and forges more trustworthy working relationships with its vendors, SBA may be doomed before its full potential is even realized, experts asserted.

The Pentagon may have to switch to "incremental procurements" to fully reap the benefits of SBA, said Harold L. Jones, technical director of the Information Management Strategic Business Unit, at Litton TASC, in Boston. Those benefits include improved communications between designers and engineers and, ultimately, lower costs.

For the JSF and DD-21, the government funded the SBA technology as part of the programs, said Jones. But for smaller programs, it has been less successful. To get the best results from SBA, Jones suggested that the Defense Department provide dollars for SBA throughout the life of a program, not just during the initial development phase. "Incremental acquisition will make SBA more useful," he said in a recent phone interview.

Jacques Gansler, the recently departing undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, in November, released the Pentagon's new systems acquisition policy. The acquisition strategy states, "Modeling and simulation shall be applied, as appropriate, throughout the system lifecycle in support of acquisition activities, such as requirements definition, program management, design and engineering, manufacturing and logistics support. In collaboration with industry, program managers shall integrate the use of modeling and simulation within program-planning activities; plan for life-cycle application, support and reuse of models and simulations; and integrate modeling and simulation across the functional disciplines."

The new rules, according to Gansler, are intended to provide the most efficient, least expensive means for systems acquisition. But the military services may not have enough funds upfront to pay for new systems, said Jones.

"It is difficult, by nature, to estimate the cost of a new weapons system," said Jones. Nowadays, the majority of cost for a system comes not from acquisition, he...