[Dat Mon]

ARTICLE..."DOD has been urging defense contractors to rely more on commercial off-the-shelf systems rather than systems built to military specifications. This emphasis on contracting with the lowest-cost producer is forcing all member companies of the defense shipbuilding industry base to source more of its material, components and systems foreign."

A couple comments...

IMO...COTS (COMMERCIAL OFF THE SHELF) has been oversold to military management.

There never is truly 'off-the shelf' when it comes to high performance equipment that has to meet stringent quality and performance criteria. Most high performance stuff is build to order...as nobody keeps stock on it. Many times somebody buys COTS...then pays top dollar to have it tweaked and modified to meet specs.

COTS does have a place however, particularly in ground based test equipment and simulation and analysis racks. It can and should be used effectively for that purpose.

I feel it should never be used in situations where man safety is required....many times there is not the attention to detail, analysis, and paper trail given to the product.

My main concern however, is the push by DOD to remove the requirements to have top shelf military gear designed and manufactured in this country. That IMHO is a big, serious, troubling move.

I have stated before on threads that as engineering and manufacturing capability diminishes in this country...our military capability would diminish as well. Well...DOD has a way out...in theory.

In practice...supply and design chains will be a bitch...and we are going to end up with an OEM military and defense capability...just like our buddies in the EU and elsewhere.

Removing the requirements to design and build here will further accelerate the demise of engineering and manufacturing in the US...which in turn will accelerate the demand for offshoring...which will further drive engineering offshore...and so on....and so on...

Notably absent from the OEM craze will be two of our biggest adversaries...Russia and China....they will continue with their own proprietary manufacturing and development efforts.

Ultimately...we will accept Madame Albrights cogent observation that we shouldn't really BE the only world superpower...after all...it just isn't fair.

[hedgetrimmer]

Don't forget Bill Clinton crowing that America isn't "the big dog on the block" anymore.

[mr_hammer]

I am quite afraid you are right!

[Paul Ross]

Good post.

Pinging.

[Meldrim]

You are correct. Off the shelf works fine for field rations and oil filters. The more technical/capability specific, the fewer suppliers. It will be interesting to see the cost that foriegners will be charging us to move military freight oversease once the vessels are getting attacked.

[indthkr]

"My main concern however, is the push by DOD to remove the requirements to have top shelf military gear designed and manufactured in this country. That IMHO is a big, serious, troubling move"

I think we may see this push realized by our recent defense agreement with India (see thread). If our joint arrangement becomes just another greed-fest as we witnessed in the commercial technology sector (as opposed to a way to bring a new and potentially important ally into the fold), then IMO we'll be on a path to real decline in our domestic technology capability and infrastructure.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1433833/posts

"Removing the requirements to design and build here will further accelerate the demise of engineering and manufacturing in the US...which in turn will accelerate the demand for offshoring...which will further drive engineering offshore...and so on....and so on..."

Just as you've noted the non-linear growth in China's technology and manufacturing infrastructure, the postive feedback loop you describe above will create a simultaneous non-linear decline in our capability. A recipe for disaster to be sure.

Ultimately...we will accept Madame Albrights cogent observation that we shouldn't really BE the only world superpower...after all...it just isn't fair.

A few days ago there was a really funny post on FR about 400 sheep who apparently flung themselves over a cliff to their deaths (supposedly a true story). Maybe the sheep thought they could fly! Likewise, sometimes I wonder if Countries, Civilizations, etc. can, or have, committed collective suicide by convincing themselves of similar delusions, like for example that Free Trade is "free" for everybody in perpetuity.