The Navy's requirements-based system of weapons acquisition requires drastic
overhaul if the sea service is to remain the dominant force in future conflicts,
officials said.
Anticipated foes are drawing their arsenal from a worldwide commercial sector
that is producing systems four or five times faster than the Pentagon's traditional
way of developing ships, aircraft, and tanks.
Buchanan noted that the U.S. military must be prepared to confront weapons
and related systems that are evolving in a much more compact cycle-"every
two to three years."
But senior leaders from the sea service and industry at the conference also
probed an array of other issues that are getting in the way of a more harmonious
military-industry partnership-considered vital to meeting tomorrow's challenges.
Following are the critical points that surfaced before three panels at the
two-day conference:
Considerable resistance exists within the government for competitive outsourcing.
Potent political resistance by federal employees is spurred primarily by job
security issues. The panel also predicted that proposed changes in the government's
A76 acquisition manual that would resolve this conflict probably will not be
achieved for at least 12 months.