Effectiveness of Air Force Science and Technology Program Changes (2003) / Chapter Skim
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2. Air Force S&T Investment Level and Balance
2. Air Force S&T Investment Level and Balance
Pages 11-27
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From page 11... ...
Rather, the mechanism for technology transition to acquisition programs is largely through system architecture decisions and design choices made by industry in response to performance requirements or the need for new capabilities, as stated by the Air Force. In planning its S&T program, the Air Force describes its approach as twofold.
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From page 12... ...
Also, the Air Force S&T program often provides benefits that extend beyond Air Force programs. However, although it makes other important contributions, the primary purpose of the Air Force S&T program and of AFRL is to provide the technology base needed by Air Force acquisition (modernization)
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From page 13... ...
. The lower curve on the right side of Figure 2-2 shows the estimate without the OSD additions discussed above in FY 2003 and without the Transformational Wideband MILSATCOM in the following years.6 Without the additions, the requested funding for Air Force S&T would have declined in FY 2003 compared with that in FY 2002.
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From page 14... ...
As Figure 2-3 shows, Air Force S&T funding in FY 1989 was higher than that for the other services, fell by the early 1990s to about the same level as the other services, and has been lower than the other services fin addition to DARPA and MDA, other elements of Defensewide S&T include the Chemical and Biological Defense Program, Defense Information Systems Agency, Defense Special Weapons Agency, Defense Threat Reduction Agency, Joint Chiefs of Staff, Office of the Secretary of Defense, and the Uniformed Services University.
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From page 15... ...
Need for Increased S&T Invesiment Ensuring that the Air Force has appropriate and sufficient technology to counter future threats is now more difficult than at any time in the past, in part because both the challenges posed by the threats and the opportunities offered by technologies are more numerous and more complex as a result of the inexorable advances of scientific discovery and engineering applications. The words "higher, farther, faster" are given new meaning by the evolving military applications of directed energy and information warfare to name just two areas.
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From page 16... ...
. As background for understanding the Air Force S&T funding allocation relative to the competing demands, the committee noted that during most of the 1990s the Air Force was faced with the demands of a high operational tempo, including Northern and Southern Watch over Iraq, operations in the Balkans, and numerous humanitarian actions all in the face of funding that declined through FY 1997 and remained relatively low through the decade (see Figure 2-6~.
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From page 17... ...
While the S&T funding in Figure 2-1 has in fact kept pace with recent increases in the overall Air Force TOA, this would not have been the case had the Air Force plan been implemented (reflected in Figure 2-2 by the curve for the PBR less the OSD additions)
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From page 18... ...
the increase is primarily to address aging platforms, special projects and programs, infrastructure, and munitions, including those used heavily in Afghanistan. The data in Table 2-2 also show that the secondlargest percentage increase since FY 1999 has been in S&T, largely due to congressional action, as discussed earlier.
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From page 19... ...
The preceding discussion was necessarily abbreviated; however, the point is that, in a fiscally constrained environment, achieving the best balance between Air Force S&T and other demands within a specific top line budget is a complex problem. The Air Force procedures to generate an appropriate S&T top line by building from the bottom up (i.e., assembling specific TABLE 2-3 Allocation of RDT&E Increases from FY 2002 to FY 2003 RDT&E Budget Activity Percentage Increase: FY02 TOA to FY03 PBR Primary Sources of Increase (Rank Ordered)
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From page 20... ...
In summary, the Air Force leadership must set the top line funding for S&T in competition with other elements such as readiness and modernization (other than S&T) within fiscal constraints established by the President and the Secretary of Defense.
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From page 21... ...
BY TECHNICAL AREA HUMAN EFFECTIVENESS 6% SPECIAL PROGRAMS 6% MUNITIONS 6% SPACE VEHICLES 6% INFORMATION 6% MATERIALS & MFG Rio DIRECTED ENERGY DUAL USE 5% ~ 1Y ° PROPULSION 15% AIR VEHICLES SENSORS r/O 1 0% BASIC RESEARCH 13% MILSATCOM 12% TECHNICAL AREA PROPULSION .........................................................................................................................................................
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From page 22... ...
FY 2002 PBR and TOA; 6.3 would have decreased without the OSD additions discussed earlier. For FY 2003, the 6.1 appropriation was higher than the PBR but less than the FY 2002 TOA.
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From page 23... ...
The committee suggests that making the flow of technology from 6.1 through 6.2/6.3, development, and into the field more readily apparent to the major operational commands and Air Force corporate leadership through the use of current and planned as well as retrospective examples would increase the insight into and interest in basic science on the part of Air Force senior leadership. 23 Applied Research (6.2)
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From page 24... ...
A logical progression of program phases and development and/or production funding must be evident in the FYDP." The Air Force plan is to restrict ATDs to projects for which a major Air Force Command has programmed or plans to program funding for transition. This is an attempt to jump technology across the traditional gap between S&T and acquisition programs and ultimately into fielded capability.
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From page 25... ...
It also believes that S&T funding should be increased with modest, realistically achievable real growth to a sustainable funding level. The committee judges such a guideline to be critical in light of the deleterious effects of instability and the need for increased funding discussed earlier.
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From page 26... ...
As a result, the allocation between critical experiments and ATDs should be modulated according to the demands of anticipated acquisition programs. EFFECTIVENESS OF AIR FORCE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM CHANGES FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS Finding 2-1.
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From page 27... ...
The committee is concerned that additional increases in non-Air Force S&T funding could further jeopardize stability and result in the Air Force's losing the ability to mature the S&T needed by the acquisition programs. Recommendation 2-2.
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