The Sixth-Generation Quandary

Naval Postgraduate School Acquisition Research Progra

Global Aerospace Industries: Rapid Changes Ahead? (Abridged)

Proceedings Paper (for Acquisition Research Program)This paper is prepared for the Ninth Annual Acquisition Research Symposium, as an abridged version of a longer report. We focus on certain key aspects of the EADS''Boeing rivalry''which, among other things, is one of the major features of international firmament of defense industrial affairs. We discuss selection of the Boeing KC-46 over the EADS KC-45 in 2011, seeking to understand connections among the associated events. We also seek to find useful explanatory models for Boeing''s success, discussed in Chapter II. In Chapter III, we consider the narrow-body airliner market, currently a Boeing''EADS duopoly. It has been a centerpiece of the firms'' rivalry, as well as a major source of profits for both. As such, these narrow-body families have provided resources for a number of wide-body developments, some of which have become part of the defense marketplace. The narrow-body market has been so profitable that other firms are positioning themselves to mount challenges to the two incumbents. These outlying firms have already made the market more competitive in a real sense. And, if these potential challengers become successful entrants, then Boeing and EADS will have lower profits, with major repercussions for both firms and their defense customers.Naval Postgraduate School Acquisition Research ProgramApproved for public release; distribution is unlimited

International Perspectives of the Impact of Export Control and Technology Transfer Regimes: The F/A-18 Case Study

Proceedings Paper (for Acquisition Research Program)This report-in-progress is part of a joint project on export control and technology which involves collaboration efforts between teams of researchers at the Naval Postgraduate School and the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom, Cranfield University. As the U.S. group, we are reporting on our case study of the F/A-18 Hornet''with a view to gleaning insights into contemporary issues pertaining to export control and technology transfer retimes.Acquisition Research ProgramApproved for public release; distribution is unlimited

Impact of Export Control and Technology Transfer Regimes: International Perspective

The U.S. International Trade in Armaments Regulations (ITAR) regime is a major national security and public policy issue. Exploring the ITAR environment through a set of case studies was the central idea in a project involving participants at Cranfield University (UK) and the Naval Postgraduate School. Our colleagues investigated the effects of ITAR within the ongoing F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program, which involves the U.S. and a number of international partners, including the UK. The Cranfield report (under separate cover) was based on a survey of UK stakeholders. The results were unambiguous and striking. Our British partners conclude ITAR is a good idea gone horribly awry. Section II provides a summary. Our main interest (Section III) is the F/A-18 tactical fighter program, which eventually involved many international partners. This collaboration was highly successful and managed to the general satisfaction of the parties involved. It was, in short, a significantly different outcome within the ITAR regime. An introduction (Section I) provides a brief overview of ITAR and illustrates the reasons for its being controversial. Finally, our concluding section summarizes the Obama Administration’s initiative to reform ITAR and offers some questions for further research in export controls in the global defense marketplace. Keywords: Export Control, ITAR, Export Control Reform, F/A-18, F-35.Acquisition Research ProgramApproved for public release; distribution is unlimited