March 2010 Viewpoint
QDR 2010: A Roadmap for National Defense
By Marion C. Blakey
In February, the Obama Administration released its 2010 Quadrennial Defense Review, the fourth such review since its inception in 1996. The goal of the QDR is to provide a comprehensive examination of the defense strategy, force structure, force modernization plans, infrastructure, budget plan and other elements of the defense program and policies with a view toward determining the defense strategy of the United States for the next 20 years.
The 2010 QDR described in this way the complex environment in which the U.S. Armed Forces find themselves today: “The rise of new powers, the growing influence of non-state actors, the spread of weapons of mass destruction and other destructive enabling technologies and a series of enduring and emerging trends pose profound challenges to the international order.” Heavily focused on existing operations and the threat of non-state actors such as the Taliban, the QDR also examined changing geopolitical realities.
The QDR achieved its goal on a number of fronts. Most notable was inclusion of the defense industrial base considerations for the first time. The nation requires a consistent, realistic and long-term strategy for shaping the structure and the capabilities of the defense industrial base. As we noted in AIA's study last year, the Pentagon has followed a largely hands-off approach for decades. The QDR agreed with the conclusion in our study that changing that approach will require a policy and a long-term partnership to ensure that industry, and its highly skilled workforce, can meet the materiel needs of the armed forces in the years to come.
Another important area of consideration in the QDR is the essential role that space systems play in national security. While more insight into DOD’s space policies is expected in the upcoming “Space Posture Review,” the QDR did cite the need to “assure access to space and the use of space assets.” Of particular note, the QDR mentions that increased investments in space situational awareness are needed. AIA has been a strong supporter of increasing our nation’s space situational awareness capability – the ability to track orbiting objects so as to keep our satellites safe from collision. As the space environment becomes increasingly crowded and congested, it is absolutely necessary for the U.S. to enhance its ability to gain greater understanding of events in space and reduce the vulnerability of space systems and their supporting infrastructure.
In the area of acquisition, the QDR broadly defines acquisition reform to include requirements, workforce and support, as well as the traditional discussion of development and manufacturing. Maintaining process integrity, improving cost estimation and program execution are all reforms that industry supports as DOD moves forward. We agree with the QDR that stable requirements and the use of mature technologies are critical to reducing cost growth. We also agree with the emphasis on improving the acquisition workforce and are pleased to see that the Pentagon is increasing its attention to these matters.
While the QDR was on target when it comes to industrial base, space and acquisition, we are concerned about three areas. First, many of the aerospace capabilities needed to overmatch potential adversaries and to execute long-duration campaigns will be increasingly complex and expensive. It is not clear that the QDR gives this sufficient emphasis and anticipates resource requirements.
This ties in with another critical area: the creation of a more robust research and development program that could maintain scarce aerospace skills while driving advanced technologies to maturity. This would help funnel mature technologies into system integration manufacturing.
Finally, another area which we believe merits attention is the budget process. The QDR would be more useful if it had provided investment guidance. That kind of guidance would promote budget stability for programs and decrease cost growth that occurs with fluctuating funding profiles.
The challenges as well as the opportunities facing the United States are immense, the QDR concludes. As a nation, we must carefully navigate the challenges of today while anticipating those facing future generations. Preparing our armed forces for that future is one of the most important responsibilities placed upon us. Congress mandated the QDR process with this responsibility in mind and we believe this, the fourth QDR, provides the long-term roadmap for the Congress to make the funding and policy decisions that will ensure our nation’s security.
