Do joint fighter programs save money?
By: Mark A. Lorell, Michael Kennedy, Robert S. Leonard, Ken Munson, Shmuel Abramzon, David L. An, Robert A. Guffey
Contributors: Kennedy, Michael, 1949- author; Leonard, Robert S., author; Munson, Kenneth, author; Abramzon, Shmuel, author; An, David L. author; Guffey, Robert A. author; Project Air Force (U.S.); Rand Corporation; United States. Air Force
Publisher: RAND
Published: 2013
Place of publication: Santa Monica, CA
Language: eng
Number of pages: 51
ISBN-13: 9780833074560
Copyright date: 2013
Subjects: Procurement; Costs; F-35 (Military aircraft); Fighter planes; Life cycle costing; United States. Department of Defense; United States
Description: In the past 50 years, the U.S. Department of Defense has pursued numerous joint aircraft programs, the largest and most recent of which is the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF). Joint aircraft programs are thought to reduce Life Cycle Cost (LCC) by eliminating duplicate research, development, test, and evaluation efforts and by realizing economies of scale in procurement, operations, and support. But the need to accommodate different service requirements in a single design or common design family can lead to greater program complexity, increased technical risk, and common functionality or increased weight in excess of that needed for some variants, potentially leading to higher overall cost, despite these efficiencies. To help Air Force leaders (and acquisition decisionmakers in general) select an appropriate acquisition strategy for future combat aircraft, this report analyzes the costs and savings of joint aircraft acquisition programs. The project team examined whether historical joint aircraft programs have saved LCC compared with single-service programs. In addition, the project team assessed whether JSF is on track to achieving the joint savings originally anticipated at the beginning of full-scale development. Also examined were the implications of joint fighter programs for the health of the industrial base and for operational and strategic risk.
Notes: "RAND Project Air Force."

"MG-1225-AF"--Page [4] of cover.

"Prepared for the United States Air Force."

Includes bibliographical references (pages 41-51).

Also available on the internet via WWW in PDF format.
Table of contents: title: Introduction; title: Historical Joint Fighter and Other Joint Aircraft Programs: Analysis of Savings and Costs; title: Joint Strike Fighter Program: Analysis of Savings and Costs; title: Additional Implications of Joint Aircraft Programs; title: Conclusions.