The Committee on Modeling and Simulation Enhancements for 21st Century Manufacturing and Acquisition was formed by the NRC in response to a request from the Defense Modeling and Simulation Office (DMSO) of DOD. The committee was asked to (1) investigate next-generation evolutionary and revolutionary M&S capabilities that will support enhanced defense systems acquisition; (2) identify specific emerging design, testing, and manufacturing process technologies that can be enabled by advanced M&S capabilities; (3) relate these emerging technologies to long-term DOD requirements; (4) assess ongoing efforts to develop advanced M&S capabilities and identify gaps that must be filled to make the emerging technologies a reality; (5) identify lessons learned from industry; and (6) recommend specific government actions to expedite development and to enable maximum DOD and U.S. commercial benefit from these capabilities. To complete its task, the committee identified relevant trends and their impact on defense acquisition needs; current use and support for use of M&S within DOD; lessons learned from commercial manufacturing; three cross-cutting and especially challenging uses of M&S technologies; and the areas in which basic research is needed in M&S in order to achieve the desired goals for manufacturing and defense acquisition.

The Committee on Modeling and Simulation Enhancements for 21st Century Manufacturing and Acquisition was formed by the NRC in response to a request from the Defense Modeling and Simulation Office (DMSO) of DOD. The committee was asked to (1) investigate next-generation evolutionary and revolutionary M&S capabilities that will support enhanced defense systems acquisition; (2) identify specific emerging design, testing, and manufacturing process technologies that can be enabled by advanced M&S capabilities; (3) relate these emerging technologies to long-term DOD requirements; (4) assess ongoing efforts to develop advanced M&S capabilities and identify gaps that must be filled to make the emerging technologies a reality; (5) identify lessons learned from industry; and (6) recommend specific government actions to expedite development and to enable maximum DOD and U.S. commercial benefit from these capabilities. To complete its task, the committee identified relevant trends and their impact on defense acquisition needs; current use and support for use of M&S within DOD; lessons learned from commercial manufacturing; three cross-cutting and especially challenging uses of M&S technologies; and the areas in which basic research is needed in M&S in order to achieve the desired goals for manufacturing and defense acquisition.

I believe this industry day is timely because the Department of Defense, through adoption of a Modeling and Simulation Master Plan in October of 1995, has begun to move forward on a more coherent strategy for improving oversight and coordination of DoD modeling and simulation activities. In a budget constrained environment, we simply can not afford to waste dollars on redundant, stove-piped efforts - we need to be able to get more mileage out of the models and simulations we build. In an environment that is increasingly joint, often coalition, and involving system of systems architectural trades, we must be able to link simulations together and interoperate them in federations. To do that we have to find ways to facilitate their interoperability and reusability. DoD modeling and simulation activities need to be anchored in a common technical architecture and interchange data which is both authoritative and means the same thing to everyone. For the remainder of my talk today, I would like to give you the Department's perspective on the use of modeling and simulation to improve training, decision support and weapon system acquisition.

In August 1995, I commissioned a one year study with the objective of assessing the effectiveness of the use of modeling and simulation (M & S) in the acquisition process. In particular, I was looking for the metrics by which the Department of Defense could ascertain the value-if any-that was returned on its investment in M & S in terms of the reduction in time, resources, and risk in weapons systems development and fielding and in terms of increase in the military utility of those systems. I also tasked the study team while gathering information to support the assessment to note technical and other challenges to realizing the postulated benefits and to report on specific M & S tools and processes being used to facilitate the acquisition of systems in the DoD and industry. This report, which documents the results of that study, provides tangible, quantitative indicators that the use of M & S can provide substantial benefit measured in time, cost, productivity, and system quality and performance. The evidence is consistent and pervasive, across both DoD and industry. I personally was impressed that the most significant return on investment was realized when M & S was used as an integrator of functions within the acquisition process, i.e., integrating design and manufacturing or linking requirements more closely to test. This leads me to believe that its real value lies as an enabler of Integrated Product and Process Development (IPPD).

Modeling, simulation, and analysis (MS&A) is a crucial tool for military affairs. MS&A is one of the announced pillars of a strategy for transforming the U.S. military. Yet changes in the enterprise of MS&A have not kept pace with the new demands arising from rapid changes in DOD processes and missions or with the rapid changes in the technology available to meet those demands. To help address those concerns, DOD asked the NRC to identify shortcomings in current practice of MS&A and suggest where and how they should be resolved. This report provides an assessment of the changing mission of DOD and environment in which it must operate, an identification of high-level opportunities for MS&A research to address the expanded mission, approaches for improving the interface between MS&A practitioners and decision makers, a discussion of training and continuing education of MS&A practitioners, and an examination of the need for coordinated military science research to support MS&A.

The DoD Deputy Director, Operational Test and Evaluation / Live Fire Testing (DDOT & E/LFT) through the DOT & E, tasked Hicks & Associates (HA & I) to conduct a survey of models and simulations (M & S) being used in support of defense acquisition programs. The tasking came as the direct result of issues first raised in an article which was published in DSMC's Program Manager (PM) Magazine in their March - April 1999 issue entitled "Meet MASTER: Modeling & Simulation Test & Evaluation Reform: Energizing the M & S Support Structure". The MASTER concept includes a number of proposals including the formation of an M & S Consortium and the possibility of finding this Consortium by tapping into the budgets of the acquisition systems which would benefit from M & S. However, when the question of how much is currently being spent in support of M & S, and related questions as to who is spending it and for what, there was little, if any, comprehensive data upon which to base a response. The purpose, then of the Hicks tasking was to identify, characterize, and determine the extent of M & S applications across a range of program office activities -- from concept exploration and engineering development through production and logistical support to systems in the field.