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Military acquisition ordefense acquisition is the "bureaucraticmanagement andprocurement process",[1] dealing with anation's investments in the technologies, programs, and product support necessary to achieve its nationalsecurity strategy and support itsarmed forces. Its objective is to acquire products that satisfy specified needs and provide measurable improvement to mission capability at a fair and reasonable price.[2]
Military acquisition has a long history spanning fromancient times (e.g.,blacksmithing,shipbuilding) to modern times.
Modern military acquisition is a complex blend ofscience,management, andengineering disciplines within the context of anation'slaw andregulation framework to produce military material andtechnology. This complexity evolved from the increasing complexity of weapon systems starting in the 20th century. For example, theManhattan Project involved more than 130,000 people at an estimated cost of nearly $24 billion in 2008 dollars.
In the twenty-first century, the trend has been for countries to cooperate in military procurement, due to the rising cost-per-unit of digital age military hardware such as ships and jets. For example,Nordic Defence Cooperation (established 2009), a grouping of Nordic countries that cooperate in defence spending, theDefence and Security Co-operation Treaty, signed between theUnited Kingdom andFrance in 2010, andJoint Strike Fighter program, which selected theLockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II in 2001, included the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Italy, Canada, the Netherlands, Norway, Denmark, Turkey, Israel and Japan.
Major activities related to military acquisition are:
EUmember states'procurement of arms, munitions, war material and related works and services acquired for defence purposes and procurement of sensitive supplies, works and services required for security purposes are subject to the EU'sDirective 2009/81/EC on Defence and Sensitive Security Procurement.[3] The purpose of thedirective is to balance the need fortransparency and openness in defence markets within theEuropean single market with the need to protect individual countries' security interests.[4] Like all EU directives, its requirements need to betransposed into the domestic laws of each member state.
The Defence and Security Public Contracts Regulations 2011, which were derived from EU law, apply to defence procurement in the UK, along with Parts 1 and 2 of theDefence Reform Act 2014.[5][6] Awhite paper entitledBetter Defence Acquisition: Improving how we procure and support Defence equipment was published in June 2013, taking forward the reform of defence procurement, equipment support, single-source supply arrangements andlogistics in the UK.[7] The white paper included a requirement for the department's large sole-source suppliers to report annually on their engagement withsmall and medium-sized enterprises and their involvement in theirsupply chains.[8] The Defence Reform Act established a statutory "Single Source" scheme applicable to situations where there is nocompetition between suppliers.
TheUS Department of Defense has three principal decision-making support systems associated with military acquisition:[2][9][10] TheCenter for Strategic & International Studies releases a report every year on defense acquisition trends.[11]
Because of the size and scope of such a bureaucracy, the US Department of Defense instituted an extensive training program, known as theDefense Acquisition University.
In Canada, responsibility for military acquisition is shatred between three separate government departments:Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC); theDepartment of National Defence (DND); andInnovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED).[14]
ISED is responsible for defining and administering the Industrial and Technological Benefits (ITB) and Value Proposition (VP), which are offsets applied to the selected defense procurements. ISED may apply offsets to DND and Coast Guard procurements of $20M (CAD, or about $15M USD) or greater.[17]
All Canadian defence procurement falls under the auspices of theTreasury Board of Canada, which establishes national procurement and contracting standards and regulations on behalf of the Government of Canada.[18]
This article incorporates text published under the BritishOpen Government Licence: Cabinet Office,Making Government business more accessible to SMEs: Two Years On, p. 30, published on 8 August 2013, accessed on 25 December 2024{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
