Space Acquisition - Air Force Space Command

per CJCSI 3170.01, is no more than 180 days from start to finish.
A CBA is not the only source for such needs, however. CCDRs
annually publish integrated priority lists that identify the gaps and
shortfalls the CCDR believes are hindering his ability to accomplish
his missions. Gaps can be identified in top-down direction,
where the Air Force Chief of Staff (CSAF) (or above) directs
pursuit of a solution to an identified need. Joint Commanders
involved in ongoing operations can identify an immediate need in
the form of a joint urgent operational need (JUON), which may
serve as a validated requirement in and of itself, and therefore
does not require a lengthy review and validation process. JUONs
may only be used in situations that require a “quick fix” to prevent
loss of life or mission failure. AFSPC responds to JUONs.
Once gaps are identified, the process begins in earnest. The
first product in the requirements generation process is the initial
capabilities document (ICD). The ICD is a concise document that
captures the steps of the CBA, and it is essentially the mission
need statement for the identified gap/shortfall. An ICD can be
generated by a CCDR or by the services. In AFSPC, the directorate
of requirements (A5) is responsible for producing the ICD,
following the processes outlined in AFSPC Instruction 10-103,
Capabilities-Based Operational Requirements Guidance. AFSPC
uses an Integrated Concept Team (ICT) to bring together the requisite
expertise to generate requirements documentation. The ICT
must have membership from across the enterprise for the capability
being pursued. This includes not only the Headquarters (HQ)
AFSPC staff, but also product centers (e.g., Space and Missile
Systems Center, Electronic Systems Center), test organizations
(e.g., Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center), other
services, CCDR representatives, other governmental agencies,
and so forth. An action officer from AFSPC/A5, called the requirements
lead (RL), will lead this diverse group to formulate
the final products in support of the capability area command lead.
As stated earlier, the process cannot begin without identified
gaps, and the steps towards solution should not proceed without
giving the gap some disciplined thought with respect to operational
context. This is where enabling concepts come into play.
Imagine building a car for a customer who has said he needs transportation
without really delving into what the customer wants.
You know he needs transportation, but do you know how he intends
to use it Do you know who will use it, who has authority to
say who can use it, what it will carry, and so forth This is the role
of the enabling concept … to flesh out the need into some operational
context and take a hard look at how the needed capability
will be used, by whom, and what effects it will ultimately produce
when used in conjunction with other existing capabilities. Articulating
these ideas at some level of detail is absolutely essential to
producing good requirements.
The Air Staff provides oversight of all Air Force requirements
activities to ensure gaps and shortfalls are being addressed appropriately,
and to limit duplication of effort between MAJCOMs.
To this end, AFSPC must present its strategy for developing any
requirements document in the form of a Requirements Strategy
Review briefing to the director of operational capability requirements
(AF/A5R). Once approved, AF/A5R will provide a venue
and the needed support from the Pentagon to draft the actual ICD
in a small group known as a high performance team (HPT). The
HPT usually meets in the Washington, D.C. area with the sole purpose
of producing a staffing-ready document. In keeping with the
objectives of the Joint Capability Integration and Development
System defined in CJCSI 3170.01, a post-HPT requirements document
receives the widest possible review from all MAJCOMs,
services, staffs, CCDRs and other agencies as required. This process
ensures all joint equities are considered prior to final validation
and approval of the document.
The RL will also initiate internal coordination with all AFSPC
organizations, and gain AFSPC/A5 approval (as a minimum), to
proceed to Air Force validation. Air Force validation takes place
at the Air Force Requirements Oversight Council (AFROC),
which is chaired by AF/A5R and is the CSAF’s governing body
for all Air Force requirements. But even after Air Staff validation,
we are not done. Every requirements document will undergo
Joint Staff review, and those that could lead to large acquisition
programs require approval by the Joint Requirements Oversight
Council (JROC), chaired by the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs
of Staff.
A JROC-validated ICD allows the Air Force to formally engage
the acquisition community in a forum called the Materiel
Development Decision (MDD). This meeting is chaired by the
probable acquisition executive, called the Milestone Decision Authority
(MDA). For large military space activities, the MDA is
the under secretary of defense for acquisition, technology, and logistics.
The MDA, with the advice and consent of the JROC representative,
will decide if the validated ICD is worthy of entering
the acquisition cycle, and at what step it should enter. The MDD
is mandatory for all new potential acquisition programs.
With MDA guidance, more analysis follows, usually in the
form of an analysis of alternatives (AoA). An AoA takes inputs
from a variety of sources, including development planning and
science and technology efforts. The MDA reconvenes for a decision
to either proceed with the effort or do more analysis at
meetings called Defense Acquisition Boards (DAB). From this
point on, the requirements and acquisition processes become intertwined
in a series of DABs, each supported by a matured set of
requirements. Time between DABs can be many months or even
years.
The next iteration of the requirements document is the Capability
Development Document (CDD). This results from work done
during the AoA and subsequent development planning efforts to
define and prioritize the most critical requirements, known as key
performance parameters. It also articulates the next level of requirements,
called key system attributes as well as other system
attributes desired. All defined requirements will be stated in terms
of a threshold value (what is good enough to satisfy the warfighter
need) and an objective value (the value beyond which there is
limited operational value, and it doesn’t make sense to further expend
resources). The acquisition community takes the CDD and
translates the requirements into engineering terms. Prioritizing
requirements through identifying KPPs and KSAs and providing
thresholds and objectives provides the acquisition community
with the needed trade space to execute successful programs.
The CDD must undergo the same approval process as did the
ICD described above. This may seem repetitive, but it ensures the
warfighter need still exists, and that the requirements are indeed
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