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4 New Priorities for Defense Manufacturing
Pages 73-82

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From page 73...
... SETTING PRIORITIES Cost-effectiveness must have the highest priority in future defense manufacturing requirements because of the expected continued decline in the defense budget. The committee believes that the principal criterion for prioritizing manufacturing capabilities for development and investment should be potential cost savings (e.g., return on investment)
From page 74...
... The committee concludes that the following four categories of defense manufacturing capabilities offer the greatest potential returns on investment: · efficient sustainment of weapons systems · modeling and simulation-based design tools · leveraging of commercial resources · cross-cutting defense-unique production processes The committee recommends that current DOD research and development efforts in defense manufacturing be augmented in these four high-priority categories. In the following sections, the committee recommends several areas within these categories for development.
From page 75...
... Better use of information technology in the design process would enable designers to take into consideration commercial developments in modeling and simulation, database search engines, product data structures, and distributed design methods.
From page 76...
... Technology road maps created by commercial industry should be used to help defense manufacturing programs keep abreast of developments and forecasts. The increasing use of COTS products can dramatically reduce the costs and development cycle times for defense products.
From page 77...
... processes for the low-cost fabrication of composite structures, including automated fiber placement for complex shapes, rapid autoclave processes or nonautoclave processes, and automated structural repair processes processes for the low-cost production and application of low observability coatings and structures, including automated coating processes for obtaining uniform and accurate coatings on complex shapes, coating thickness sensors that can operate in severe process environments, forming processes for complex shapes, processes to coat interfaces between parts, and designs to eliminate interfaces between parts · defense-unique electronic technologies, including packaging for harsh environments, integrated systems-on-a-chip, flip chips, multichip packaging, and rugged, uninterruptable interconnections that can operate in severe vibration environments design, information, and manufacturing technologies that provide dimensional control in the production of large, complex parts REORIENTING PROGRAMS DOD's ManTech program, a joint program of the armed services and the
From page 78...
... Because of this program orientation, the emphasis has been on coordinating program advances and technology implementation across the spectrum of defense manufacturing. The committee believes that the ManTech program is an ideal vehicle for developing many of the required defense manufacturing capabilities described in this report.
From page 79...
... In this role, the ManTech program would provide advice and assistance about future technologies for defense program management offices and the industrial design teams responsive to them. One mechanism for technology dispersion would be the temporary transfer of ManTech personnel to program offices or defense contractors as members of design teams or integrated product and process development teams.
From page 80...
... However, as defense contractors integrate commercial and defense production and more defense subsystems are manufactured on commercial lines, defense manufacturers will naturally adopt best industrial practices on their own initiative. The ManTech program should expand this area beyond best practices to include technologies for enhancing cost-effectiveness.
From page 81...
... Finally, the committee has recommended changes of emphasis and direction in the six ManTech thrust areas and the addition of a thrust area for leveraging commercial resources. The committee believes that critical mass can be maintained in the important ManTech initiatives currently under way while the reorientation proceeds.


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