U.K. Defense Procurement Entirely ‘Joint’

By Grace Jean

While the U.S. military continues to debate how best to develop and procure joint-service weapons systems, in nations such as the United Kingdom, the entire defense acquisition system is based upon joint requirements.

In the United Kingdom, one pot of money is split amongst 13 capability directorates, such as strike and maneuver, instead of divided out by services, Lt. Col. Mark Mangham, permanent joint headquarters liaison officer to U.S. Joint Forces Command, told National Defense.

Each directorate is staffed by joint officers so that one person is in charge of procurement for all branches of the military. For example, the strike directorate might be deciding what missile to buy for both ships and ground artillery.

To ensure they are getting the most for their money, British officials are forced to prioritize programs and go through cost analysis and other measures, he added. Such screening resembles the U.S. evaluation process that was put in place two years ago, through the joint capabilities integration and development system, or JCIDS.

However, having joint directorates deciding how to spend money on programs does not inoculate them from acquisition ills, said Mangham. The U.K. also is struggling with equipment interoperability issues, most acutely in command and control and other network systems.

“It’s very difficult to deliver something that is well-integrated,” said Mangham. An individual has no incentive to make sure something interoperates with other bits of equipment, he said.

To improve the acquisition process, the U.S. need look no further than its own borders, he said. U.S. Special Operations Command, with its limited acquisition authority, is one example of where things are being done well, he pointed out. At U.S. SOCOM, a single acquisition executive oversees procurement for the entire command, which includes members of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps.

A joint budget is not necessarily the answer for the U.S. defense procurement process, said Mangham. The trick is to make the program evaluations through JCIDS work and to have it concentrate on delivering things in a joint way, he said.