DOD and Air Force leaders are unanimous that the United States must be able to deliver critical capabilities rapidly and at affordable costs to maintain deterrence in an era of intensifying great power competition. Unfortunately, past acquisition programs, and particularly aircraft development programs, have often failed to deliver desired capabilities on time and budget.
The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies investigates these issues in its most recent Forum Paper titled, From EMD to Milestone C and Beyond: Common Issues that Affect Developmental Programs Transitioning into Production, authored by Lt Gen Mark Shackelford, USAF (Ret). The paper examines eight aircraft development programs that encountered challenges at Milestone C, the critical transition period from development to production. Gen Shackleford identifies several common issues and offers key insights which may aid future programs to adopt a realistic and proactive approach to delivering needed capabilities on budget and schedule.
Dayton Aerospace experts provided extensive research and analysis for this project. Many of the specific details and lessons learned found in this report came directly from interviews with previous program managers and program executive officers (PEOs) facilitated by Dayton Aerospace.
In addition, Dayton Aerospace Executive Vice President, Dwyer Dennis, Maj Gen, USAF (Ret), participated in the Mitchell Institute’s Aerospace Nation rollout event for the paper’s release. Watch as Gen Dennis joins report author Gen Shackelford, as well as Mitchell Institute Dean, Lt Gen David Deptula, USAF (Ret), and Randall Walden, Director and Program Executive Officer for the Department of the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office, as they discuss common issues and key insights gleaned from the research.
The recorded presentation and PDF report can be accessed from the Mitchell Institute website using the links provided in this post.
