Thwarting Antiquation: Efficient Decisions and Effective Systems for the US Air Force

This paper evaluates the need for less cumbersome procedures for updating and maintaining weapon system readiness. United States weapon systems tend to fall into a cycle of antiquation and stagnation during the operations and support phase of their life cycles. Armed forces regulatory and financial policies, as written, restrict efforts to upgrade or update weapon systems on an ongoing basis; instead, they force these systems into obsolescence by inhibiting any design changes that intentionally provide appreciable performance increases. Current regulations contend that permanent weapon systems modifications must be treated as an acquisition, not an update; as such, they are subject to a byzantine process of bureaucratic approval and restrictive appropriations. The paper presents potential solutions to this issue, evaluated in terms of warfighter merit, feasibility, and potential risks. [Tristan A. Caruso / 2021 / 32 pages / ISSN 2687-7260 / AU Press Code: WF-81]