Defense Acquisition magazine Product Support Special Issue Bimonthly magazine of Warfighting Acquisition University for senior military personnel, civilians, defense contractors, and defense industry professionals in program management and the acquisition, technology and logistics workforce. Defense Acquisition Magazine January-February 2026 Vol LV | No. 1 | Issue 308
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06 Product Support: Vital to Warfighter Success Lisa Smith
A key official introduces the product sup - port edition of Defense Acquisition Maga - zine with an overview of this crucially im - portant work.
10 Interview With Devin L. Cate, Deputy Assistant
Secretary of the Air Force for Technology,
Engineering and Product Support Michael Oar
A senior Air Force leader answers ques - tions on critical product support topics.
14 A Call-to-Action:
Ensuring Resilience Through Co- Sustainment Joseph A. Brooks, William R. Funches, Jr., Lt. Col. Joshua B. Roberts, USMC (Ret.), and Jillian R. McCain Sustainment Innovations are reshaping U.S. and allied military logistics and in - creasing resilience and readiness.
20 Readiness by Design R. Chris DeLuca
Life Cycle Logistics and Engineering & Technical Management workforces must collaborate to enable our forces to fight and win.
26 Improving Sustainment Outcomes Through Digital Product Support Shawn Harrison
42 The Merits of Fast
For many defense systems, a digital approach can deliver more effective and affordable sus - tainment outcomes for the Warfighter.
Payment on Contacts Jennifer Jones Though their visibility is low, fast pay- ments account for most of DoW money spent on purchases.
32 Lessons from a
Joint Exercise at the Point of Need
46 Digital Engineering Initiatives for the U.S. Army David J. Gorsich, Ph.D., and Jean M. Dasch, Ph.D.
Col. Jason L. Miles, USA; Col. Franklie J. Cruz, USA (Ret.); Maj. Chalonda J. Estelle, USA; Capt. Gary Broadwell, USN (Ret.); Kevin Gulick; and Daniel Weinstein A recent Joint Staff exercise highlights the critical need to integrate commercial product support, including early planning, risk-shar- ing frameworks, and protection for commer- cial assets.
The Army is working to transform docu- ment-intensive, stovepiped, nontransfer- able data into a new paradigm based on Digital Engineering.
36 Rethinking Sustainment and Resilience Metrics for the Modern Fight
31 MDAP Program ALSO IN THIS ISSUE Manager Changes
Dennis Rohler and Col. BJ Seong Lim, USAF The DoW proposes a new diagnostic metric defined by mean time beween maintenance, mean time to repair, and mean logistics delay.
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PRODUCT SUPPORT
Product Support— Vital to Warfghter Success by LISA P. SMITH Tis issue of Defense Acquisition magazine focuses on Product Support. It has been more than a decade since an issue of the magazine was ded - icated to the support of our weapon systems, subsystems, components, and the Product Support package that sustains them. A great deal has changed in Life Cycle Logistics and Product Support since then, and the articles in this issue address many of the ways we maintain weapon sys - tem readiness in today’s challenging global environment. Transformation Strategy announced in December 2025. What is meant by “Product Sup - port (PS)”? The United States Code defines PS as: “… the package of sup - port functions required to field and maintain the readiness and opera - tional capability of covered systems, subsystems, and components, includ - ing all functions related to covered system readiness.” However, the term is not limited to covered systems. It is used broadly across the department, as well as in industry and internationally, to ad - dress how we develop, deliver, and maintain weapon system readiness. The 12 support functions that fol - low are those activities associated with the Product Support elements, Most importantly, the articles address some of the ways Product Support is meeting the Secretary of War’s priorities of restoring the war - rior ethos, specifically reemphasizing combat readiness; rebuilding military capabilities; and enhancing national deterrence through the Acquisition
collectively referred to as the Inte - grated Product Support (IPS) Ele - ments: 1. Product Support management 2. Design interface 3. Sustaining engineering 4. Maintenance planning and man- agement 5. Supply support 6. Support equipment 7. Technical data 8. Training and training support 9. Information technology systems continuous support 10. Facilities and infrastructure 11. Packaging, handling, storage, and transportation 12. Manpower and personnel
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PRODUCT SUPPORT
Each of these elements plays a critical role in support of our weapon systems and must be addressed to deliver an effective and affordable Product Support solution for our weapon systems. Product Support and sustainment planning occur throughout a weapon system’s life cycle. Further, Product Support performance and cost in sus - tainment are greatly impacted by de - cisions made early in development. Therefore, a life cycle management perspective is critically important in assessing design decisions during de - velopment and the return on invest - ment when considering Product Sup - port solutions. Designing for sustainment and planning for Product Support solu - tions must begin as early as possible to shape effectiveness and afford -
ability over the life cycle. It starts with Warfighter requirements. The entire acquisition and sustainment commu - nity, from program offices to govern - ment and commercial industrial sites, must be aligned and measure success based on Warfighter outcomes. Col - laboration for sustainment between the program manager, product sup - port manager (PSM), lead systems engineer, Product Support providers, industry partners, and the customer for Product Support is key to design - ing for supportability and delivering reliability, maintainability, and afford - ability. The Product Support Manager Guidebook summarizes this philoso - phy in five guiding principles: “Start and end with Warfighter objectives; demonstrate and enforce a life-cycle focus; build mutually beneficial part -
Above: U.S. Marines with Kilo Company, Battalion Landing Team 3/5, 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, execute reload drills while conducting weapons handling sustainment training aboard Whidbey Island-class dock landing ship USS Comstock (LSD 45) in the Pacific Ocean, Jan. 26, 2026. The 11th MEU is currently underway aboard the Boxer Amphibious Ready Group in the U.S. 3rd Fleet area of operations conducting integrated training that enhances lethality and warfighting readiness. Source: U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Trent A. Henry This image was cropped to show detail and edited using multiple flters plus dodging and burning techniques. nerships; incentivize accountabil - ity for performance; and enterprise means enterprise.” While the first four are self-explan - atory, the last principle may require a little more discussion. It states that we must look relentlessly for Product Support solutions that take an enterprise rather than a stove - pipe approach; leverage the capa - bilities of other Services, allies, and
JANUARY FEBRUARY 2026 | DEFENSE ACQUISITION MAGAZINE 7 –
PRODUCT SUPPORT
international partners; and take ad - vantage of commonality and econo - mies of scale to reduce unnecessary redundancy and cost. This philoso - phy is reflected in the department’s Regional Sustainment Framework (RSF) initiative and aligns with the Fiscal Year 2024 National Defense Au - thorization Act, Section 842, Advanc - ing International Product Support in a Contested Logistics Environment. RSF was implemented to improve Warfighter outcomes and is intended to move support forward to improve readiness. It establishes partnerships with international allies to utilize re - gional capabilities, where capabili - ties and capacity exist, for common weapon systems. RSF and co-sus - tainment strategies are reshaping U.S. and allied military logistics to increase resilience and readiness. The military and economic benefits of RSF for the United States and our allies are just starting to be realized, and we can do much more to advance co-sustainment in contested logistics environments.
I mentioned aligning the Product Support community to Warfighter re - quirements. This means ensuring that everyone across the acquisition and sustainment ecosystem measures their success (or failure) by their im - pact on Warfighter readiness. Organi - zations too often in the past have had their own set of goals and associated metrics with no link to the impact on the Warfighter. Every action taken by the DoW “tail” in support of the “tip” must be value added to Warfighter success. If it is not, then it should be adjusted or eliminated. This starts at the very beginning of the weapon system’s life cycle with the PSM, in support of the PM, developing an effective performance- based life cycle Product Support Strategy (PSS) that will deliver an in - tegrated and affordable Product Sup - port solution designed to optimize system readiness for the Warfighter. The performance-based life cycle PSS will be the basis for all Prod - uct Support efforts and lead to a Product Support package to sustain
Warfighter requirements. Program - matically, all Product Support solu - tions should be performance-based. Product Support solutions should in - clude an appropriate mix of product and process metrics with threshold values to monitor performance that may be adjusted as needed to satisfy Warfighter requirements. How these metrics flow down to Product Sup - port integrators and providers will depend on their specific duties and inherent responsibilities. Regardless of the specifics of per - formance and associated metrics, it must be shown how those used throughout the supply chain flow to the top-level program metrics. Ar - rangements with government and commercial industry, whether per - formance-based or not, should be structured to specific program needs and evolve as needed throughout the life cycle. The key is to satisfy the Warfighter’s requirements, usually ex - pressed in terms of availability, and not focus only on the consumption of resources or who performs the work.
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PRODUCT SUPPORT
lenges have faced the PSM and the lo - gistics and Product Support commu - nity supporting our weapon systems. Our systems have become ever more sophisticated while our adversaries have advanced in technology, force structure, and tactics. Conflicts have simultaneously erupted across the globe, and our weapon systems—due to continuous, in-service positioning and operation over the last two de - cades—require updates or replace - ment. It is imperative that our PSS and accompanying solutions address these challenges in delivering and maintaining effective and affordable Product Support. To address these challenges, stat - ute, policy, and guidance for Product Support have evolved to keep pace. Over the past 15 years, Product Sup - port also has evolved as much as, if not more than, any other functional part of the acquisition and sustain - ment processes in DoW. Public Law 111-84, Section 805, formally estab - lished the PSM position that is de - fined in 10 U.S.C. § 4324. The statute lists PSM duties and responsibilities, and these have increased in almost every year since inception. The DoW emphasized the importance of Prod - uct Support by issuing DoD Instruc - tion 5000.91, dedicated to Product Support and integrating existing and emerging product support strate - gies into the Adaptative Acquisition Framework’s six unique pathways for program management. Eliminating failed or non-value- added requirements, redundancies, and inefficiencies in Product Support strategies has been a noteworthy and ongoing effort, with the results re - flected in new or updated statute and policy. Numerous guidebooks addressing Product Support, Supply Chain, Public Private Partnerships, Performance Based Logistics, Product Support Business Case Analysis, and more were released and subsequently updated as needed. Training for life cycle logisticians and the broader Lo - gistics community was revamped to
provide needed skills to meet today’s demands while optimizing the mix of formal and practical training. This issue of Defense Acquisition magazine includes articles from se - nior leaders and subject matter ex - perts addressing challenges and responses across the sustainment domain. Articles are included on the needs of the Warfighter from the Joint Chiefs of Staff/J4 perspective and the Services’ approach to meeting these needs. One article discusses the PSM’s ap - proach to Product Support solutions and another provides an engineer - ing view of the importance of PSM and engineering collaboration on laying the foundations for battlefield readiness. Other articles from senior leaders and subject matter experts in - clude Readiness by Design; Sustain - ment Health Metrics; Digital Product Support; and PSM and logistics work - force. These provide a wealth of infor - mation, and the reader is encouraged to diligently read them all. Product Support planning and ex - ecution are vital to the overall health of the DoW’s systems, subsystems, and components supporting War- fighter readiness! SMITH is the Deputy Assistant Secretary of War for Product Support and Principal Advi- sor to the Office of the Secretary of War leadership on readiness and sustainability of major weapon systems. She is responsible for developing and implementing acquisition and sustainment strategies and processes that provide Warfighters with cost-effective weapon systems readiness across the life cycle. Smith also coordinates and synchro- nizes the international and partner engage- ments of the Assistant Secretary of War for Sustainment and manages the DoW life cycle logistics and logistics workforce. She assumed her current position in April 2021 and has more than 40 years of logistics, acquisition, and supply chain experience in the department. The author can be contacted at Lisa.p.smith14.civ@mail.mil . R eproduction or reposting of articles from Defense Acquisition magazine should credit the authors and the magazine.
- - Eliminating failed or non value added requirements, redundancies, and inefciencies in Product Support strategies has been a noteworthy and ongoing efort, with the results refected in new or updated statute and policy.
Since publication of the earlier Product Support-focused issue of this magazine, increasingly complex chal -
JANUARY FEBRUARY 2026 | DEFENSE ACQUISITION MAGAZINE 9 –
PRODUCT SUPPORT Interview With DEVIN L. CATE
Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Technology, Engineering, and Product Support by MICHAEL OAR, U.S. AIR FORCE DEPUTY DIVISION CHIEF OF LOGISTICS and PRODUCT SUPPORT POLICY
- Devin L. Cate, executive director, Air National Guard (ANG), speaks with Col Raymond L. Hyland Jr., commander of the 171st Air Refuel ing Wing, Pennsylvania ANG, while on the flight line area, April 11, 2023, in Pittsburgh, Pa. Source: U.S. Air National Guard photo by Master Sgt. Bryan Hoover This image was cropped to show detail and edited using multiple flters plus dodging and burning techniques.
Prior to his current position, Cate served as executive director of the Air National Guard. Earlier, he served as Director of Air Force Test and Evaluation and as Deputy Director of the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Ofce. Cate was interviewed recently in his Pentagon ofce by Air Force Deputy Division Chief of Logistics and Product Support Policy Michael Oar.
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Q Do you have any opening comments on the state of product support within the Air Force? A. This is undoubtedly a challenging time to be a Product Support Manager [PSM], but it is also an exciting one. PSMs supporting new acquisition programs find themselves in a rapidly changing environment, while facing historic readi - ness shortfalls. The acquisition system has been directed to accelerate the delivery of capabilities and rapidly iterate on new technologies. The way we plan for product support is changing. Digital product support is emerging, artificial intelligence [AI]-enabled tools are being proliferated, and PSMs are being challenged to manage rigorous product support planning with the imperative to provide cutting- edge capability quickly to Warfighters. In this environment, there are no easy answers or cookie-cutter solutions to product support challenges, and the Air Force relies on its PSMs to think critically about how to balance these com - peting forces. Q How is “Digital Product Support” reshaping the PSM’s role, and what specifc skills are now essential? A. Digital Product Support leverages digital engineering, data, and system models to drive effective product support outcomes. The PSM now needs to be adept at using and managing a system’s Authoritative Source of Truth, usually a model-based system. This requires advocating for the ac - quisition of necessary data and appropriate license rights in contracts. PSMs need a solid grasp of model-based en - gineering, product life-cycle management, and data ana - lytics. Understanding the 12 Integrated Product Support [IPS] elements and how they benefit from digital models is crucial. Digital product support enables data-driven deci - sion-making by better understanding our systems and pro - actively planning to address aging issues such as structural fatigue, Diminishing Manufacturing Sources and Material Shortages [DMSMS], and analysis of workforce skills and location of sustainment needs to maximize availability. Digital product support also enables improved life-cycle support, moving from managing by averages to manag - ing by tails, enabling tailored planning for field and depot maintenance and improved supply planning accuracy. Fur - thermore, the logisticians of tomorrow are key leaders in ensuring that supportability analysis, configuration man - agement, technical data management/logistics product data management, and model-based engineering are well addressed throughout the life cycle. Q There’s a lot of attention on artifcial intelligence right now, both in industry and government. What’s your perspective on how AI can contribute to positive product support outcomes? A. AI is definitely in the spotlight, and I think it has real po - tential to transform how we do product support in the Air Force and Space Force. When most people think about AI, they immediately go to things like large language models and generative pre-trained transformers—LLMs and GPTs. I’m particularly hopeful about the possibilities there. Imag -
Te acquisition system has been directed to accelerate the delivery of capabilities and rapidly iterate on new technologies.
ine being able to give a maintainer a tool, a GPT trained on all the official tech manuals, so they can instantly find the right procedure for any task. It’s about getting the right information to people when they need it, and we’re already seeing some of that with the AI assistant at the Warfighting Acquisition University. But beyond LLMs, I’m really looking to see how we can leverage AI in data analytics and decision support. The biggest lever we have in product support is really how we resource a program. Can we afford reliability upgrades for those problem line replaceable units? Do we have the bud - get for corrosion prevention? Are we investing in adequate initial spares? Those kinds of budgetary decisions make all the difference. So, anything we can do to get better in - formation into the hands of decision-makers is a win. A great example of this in action is the Space Force’s Space Sustainment Performance and Enterprise Evaluation Dash - board—we call it SSPEED. The idea behind SSPEED is to proactively manage risk in life-cycle sustainment and really see how resourcing decisions are going to impact opera - tional readiness. It gives us a data-driven way to forecast how our sustainment choices affect mission availability and effectiveness. Right now, SSPEED uses AI to pull in data from all over the place to give us a single, enterprise-wide view of our space systems. Just this descriptive capability alone is huge. But the Space Force is working toward adding AI- powered predictive capabilities by 2026. That’s when we really get into human-machine teaming, using advanced analytics to model the complex connections between our investments in sustainment and the operational outcomes. This will let the Space Force do “what-if” scenario plan - ning so we can optimize resources to achieve the readiness levels we need and minimize potential risks much more effectively than we can today. Looking ahead, I’m confident that AI will be an essential tool for us in life cycle product support. By providing bet - ter information and decision support, it will help us make smarter choices about how we allocate resources and ul - timately improve mission readiness. Q What is the PSM’s role in DMSMS management, and how can proactive strategies minimize its impact? A. Programs are responsible for developing, funding, and executing a DMSMS management plan. This requires pro - active, risk-based management to identify, forecast, and
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PRODUCT SUPPORT
resolve DMSMS issues. PSMs must work with the Defense Logistics Agency and other product support providers. Robust DMSMS management relies on near-term moni - toring, long-term technology forecasting, and a strategy to resolve the DMSMS issue. This helps target affordability and control cost growth by accounting for DMSMS issues during design. Moreover, by cultivating long-term relation - ships with suppliers, the government is more likely to have advanced warnings and can plan an alternative course of action. PSMs should advocate for DMSMS-resilient designs, open systems architecture, and consider technology re - freshment plans. Q Given the Department of War’s Regional Sustain- ment Framework [RSF] strategic initiative to equip the Warfghter through globally dispersed maintenance, repair, and overhaul [MRO] capabilities closer to the point of need, what is the Air Force doing to implement RSF? And how will it improve Air Force weapon systems readiness in a contested logistics environment? A. Performing MRO sustainment operations of weapon systems closer to the point of need is not new to the De - partment of the Air Force. Today, we have a contract with Korean Air Lines [KAL] in South Korea to accomplish ser - vice life extension and depot-level maintenance on our F-16 fighter fleet stationed within the Indo-Pacific Command theater. In fact, the Air Force has been contracting with KAL to perform MRO actions on weapon systems for F-15, F-16 fighters and HH-60 helicopters with a high level of success for decades. To complement the RSF initiative, Air Force Sustainment Center has initiated GENUS, the Global En - terprise Network for Universal Sustainment. GENUS aims to extend our depot maintenance capabilities by utilizing depot maintenance artisans within and beyond the United States, fostering stronger partnerships with allied nations, indigenous industries, and U.S. companies with locations abroad. We still have much work ahead of us as we watch GENUS evolve into a viable sustainment option, but the initiative is primed to enhance the Air Force’s readiness and operational flexibility. To ensure that we are targeting the right MRO capabil - ity enhancements, my office is working closely with the weapon system program offices to validate, through analy - sis, the systems, subsystems, and components that can improve readiness of our weapon systems in a contested logistics environment. Once the program offices have vali - dated the need for an RSF workload shift or dual source of repair, the Air Force will continue to follow the required
Devin L. Cate, Executive Director, Air National Guard, receives a first hand view of the boom operators’ mission from Master Sgt. Justin Davis, boom operator, assigned to the 171st Air Refueling Wing, Pennsylvania Air National Guard, during a KC-135 aircraft tour, April 11, 2023, in Pittsburgh, Pa. Source: U.S. Air National Guard photo by Master Sgt. Bryan Hoover instructions from the Department of War and the Air Force for depot source of repair assignments. Q Both the SPEED [Streamlining Procurement for Effective Execution and Delivery] Act of 2025 in the House and the FoRGED [Fostering Reform and Government Effciency in De- fense] Act in the Senate have proposed signifcant changes to the PSM’s statutory requirements. Do you have any thoughts on how these changes might impact the PSMs? A. While nobody knows for certain what changes will be agreed to between the House and the Senate, I don’t be - lieve the impact on the PSMs will be significant. Nearly 15 years ago, Congress carried tremendous changes within the product support community by codifying the over - arching requirement for a PSM along with six fundamental PSM responsibilities in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2010 National Defense Authorization Act [NDAA]. This legislation had the
Looking ahead, I’m confdent that AI will be an essential tool for us in life cycle product support. By providing better information and decision support, it will help us make smarter choices about how we allocate resources and ultimately improve mission readiness.
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effect of both reinforcing the importance of product sup - port within our acquisition programs as well as setting up some broad guidelines for the types of activities requiring PSM involvement. More importantly, though, the statute drove action within the department and Air Force to elevate our PSM’s capabilities to positively influence the sustainment of our weapon systems, and I think the legislation was effective in that regard. Since that time, a series of increasingly prescriptive requirements have been added to the PSM’s statutory mandate. This approach is in tension with current acquisition reform initiatives that emphasize flexibility and speed in execution, so we will watch closely how congres - sional direction on PSM requirements interweaves with ongoing acquisition transformation. Q Congress is also looking at making some changes to the statutes governing intellectual property [IP]. Provisions addressing a so-called “right-to-repair” as well as “data-as-a-service” have been included in early ver- sions of the FY 2026 NDAA. Do you have any thoughts on those concepts? A. It is vital for our PSMs to fully consider the technical data, computer software, and data rights needed to sustain their programs throughout the life cycle, and then develop a plan to satisfy these needs, implement the plan in the contract, and ensure the contractor meets its obligations
under the contract. If we do not secure the appropriate IP, the Air Force’s options for either organic sustainment in the Air Logistics Complexes or competitive sustainment in the private sector will be severely limited. This sort of flexibility in choosing our own maintenance providers is important for enabling the Air Force to meet contested logistics chal - lenges. PSMs will always need to accomplish the funda - mental IP tasks mentioned above, and I trust any legislative changes in the future will complement these efforts. Q Corrosion poses signifcant challenges to system readiness and availability. What are your primary con- cerns regarding corrosion’s impact, and what resources are available to PSMs to address these challenges? A. Corrosion poses a significant threat to the Department of the Air Force, affecting safety, readiness, and budget. Data indicate that corrosion costs the Department of War approximately $20 billion annually, with the Air Force incur - ring $5 billion of this cost. Approximately 20 percent of all system maintenance is attributable to corrosion, signifi - cantly impacting weapon system availability and reducing operational readiness due to corrosion-related failures. Integrating corrosion mitigation considerations early in system design provides the most effective long-term so - lution to address these challenges. PSMs have access to several resources to effectively manage corrosion. The Air Force Corrosion Control and Prevention Executive within the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics plays a key role by integrating corrosion control and prevention into policy, advocating for re - search, and influencing budget priorities. The 2023 Air Force Corrosion Prevention and Control Strategic Plan exemplifies this commitment. The Air Force Corrosion Prevention and Control Office at Robins Air Force Base in Georgia serves as the plan’s primary execution arm, pro - viding aerospace corrosion subject matter expertise and training to field units, depots, and program managers. The Corrosion Prevention and Control Planning Guidebook , available through the Warfighting Acquisition University, is an excel - lent resource for PSMs seeking to implement an effective corrosion management process. Ultimately, combating corrosion requires a multifaceted approach. While ideally prevented through design, tools must also be available to identify and address root causes to prevent further damage. Corrosion is an inherent chal - lenge extending beyond simple rust. A well-defined and diligently executed Corrosion Prevention and Control Plan, implemented from a system’s inception through disposal and utilizing the resources mentioned above, is a key tool for PSMs to mitigate costs and maintain readiness through - out a program’s life cycle.
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Brig. Gen. David May, Wisconsin’s deputy adjutant general for Air, speaks with Devin Cate, the executive director for the Air National Guard, during Northern Lightning, a large-scale, full-spectrum counterland training exercise at Volk Field Combat Training Readiness Center Aug. 10. The goal of Northern Lightning is to provide tailored, cost-effective, and realistic combat training for the Department of Defense total force. Source: Wisconsin National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Amber Peck
JANUARY – FEBRUARY 2026 | DEFENSE ACQUISITION MAGAZINE 13
A CALL-TO-ACTION— Ensuring Resilience Through Co-Sustainment by JOSEPH A. BROOKS, WILLIAM R. FUNCHES, JR., LT. COL. JOSHUA B. ROBERTS, USMC (RET.), and JILLIAN R. MCCAIN Te power to deter and counter aggression depends on global reach and assured logistics. Since the end of the Cold War, America has relied on uncontested lines of communication, just-in-time supply chains, and optimized sustainment networks to achieve this reach. Today, U.S. global reach and assured logistics are under pressure from peer and near-peer adversaries that are increasingly aligned in their goals and approach. New technologies hold at risk our sustainment assets and accelerate the velocity of conflicts.
While U.S. platforms and weapons remain among the most advanced in the world, their operational value di - minishes if spare parts, munitions, fuel, and repair capabilities cannot
reach the point of need. In a con - tested logistics environment, aligned adversaries can impair our key lines of communication, undermine sup - ply chains, and degrade sustainment
networks to halt operations before
they begin.
Our approach to sustain the fight must evolve in the face of adversar - ial alignment, integrated targeting,
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faster delivery systems, and nonki - netic and grey-zone threats. The Re - gional Sustainment Framework (RSF) On June 24, 2025, the department signed out implementing guidance for RSF, a proactive and integrated sustainment approach that shifts is the start of that evolution. the focus from reactive retrograde sustainment solutions to forward, regionally based co-sustainment strategies, capabilities, and scalable capacity. Simply put, co-sustainment provides logistics, personnel services,
and other product support to the Warfighter in enduring collaboration and cooperation between the United States and its allies and partners. Co-sustainment ventures with al - lies allow for the United States to dis - perse assets—complicating targeting, forward posture support to the War- fighter, and sharing the burden with allies and partners. RSF provides a blueprint for building resilient, dis - tributed logistics networks capable of absorbing and surviving disrup - tion, and delivering consistent, af -
fordable, and reliable support to the Warfighter, even in contested To accelerate this evolution, RSF initiatives are being aligned with the department’s Acquisition Transfor - mation Strategy, leveraging flexible logistics environments. contracting tools and rapid resource allocation to ensure sustainment so - lutions are delivered at the speed of relevance. In this way, RSF and co- sustainment initiatives are not only advancing resilience in contested logistics but also directly reinforcing
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the department’s Acquisition Trans - formation Strategy. By expanding the industrial base through allied part - nerships, streamlining requirements with real time feedback from the field, empowering portfolio acquisition executives and sustainment leaders, and ensuring that funding follows ur - gent operational needs, RSF demon - strates how sustainment can embody the strategy’s pillars while delivering readiness at the speed of relevance. RSF is a strategic response to two converging priorities: the depart - ment’s recognition of contested lo - gistics as a pacing challenge, and the Secretary of War’s directive to build resilient, cost-effective sustainment networks, rebuild the workforce, and re-establish deterrence. RSF is grounded in straightforward princi - ples: Sustainment support must be positioned closer to the point of need to ensure readiness, and the burden of sustainment must be shared, lever - aging collective strengths. What Are RSF and Co-Sustainment? RSF offers a structured approach that organizes sustainment efforts into clear lines of effort. Combatant Commands (CCMDs) identify regional priorities based on operational re - quirements. The Services contribute their expertise, assets, and resources. The Office of the Secretary of War and the Joint Staff provide overarching guidance and ensure coordination and integration across theaters. In - dustry partners add technical depth and drive innovation. Allies and part - ners contribute infrastructure, work - force, repair capabilities, and access to logistics hubs that no single nation could reasonably establish on its own. RSF represents a shift away from traditional Service-unique sustain - ment models. Rather than treat in - ternational cooperation as a second - ary option or diplomatic obligation, it positions co-sustainment as the standard that achieves equitable and tangible benefits for all stakeholders.
RSF initiatives are being aligned with the depart- ment’s Acquisition Transformation Strategy, leveraging fexible contracting tools and rapid resource allocation to ensure sustainment solu- tions are delivered at the speed of relevance. In this way, RSF and co-sustainment initiatives are not only advancing resilience in contested logis- tics but also directly reinforcing the department’s Acquisition Transformation Strategy.
Each Pathway or Pilot Project demon - strates how bilateral and multilateral collaboration can address real-world sustainment challenges. These proj - ects are not simply prototype demon - strations. They serve as tangible ex - amples of how shared investment in sustainment yields immediate bene - fits for the combined force and builds foundational anchors and trust for long-term resilience across the global industrial base and supply chains. RSF and Co-Sustainment in Action RSF and the idea of a co-sustain - ment ecosystem are no longer just ideas on paper. Over the past two years, this concept has moved into practice through a series of overlap - ping implementation activities and initiatives that clearly demonstrate what co-sustainment can deliver. These efforts are deliberately bilat - eral or multilateral in focus at the outset, since trusted partnerships are the foundation of any regional network. By starting with strong and meaningful bilateral and multilateral engagements, the department and its partners have been able to simultane - ously build trust, test concepts, align priorities, and increase the confi - dence needed to expand into unprec - edented and reciprocally benefitting multilateral arrangements. Bilateral Pathway Projects fo - cused on specific sustainment gaps identified by the CCMDs are either
underway or under development in areas of responsibility under the U.S. Indo-Pacific, European, and Central Commands. These projects include Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO), storage and support for se - cure information/communications systems, Army Watercraft, fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft, as well as missile defense systems. Each of these projects has helped the United States and its allies and partners understand what is needed to enable co-sustainment and has helped set a new standard for sup - porting readiness closer to the point of need. These projects are already making a difference in terms of read - iness in the Indo-Pacific where RSF has reduced transit time for Army Watercraft by 40 days, eliminated 470 days of transit and queue time for the Multifunctional Information Distribu - tion System Joint Tactical Radio Sys - tem inspection and repair, and has increased flight hours for F-16 fight - ers, HH-60 helicopters, and F-15s in theater. Equally important, RSF demon - strates how funding agility can be achieved in practice. By structuring Pathway and Pilot Projects as mod - ular, scalable efforts, resources can be redirected rapidly to the highest priority sustainment gaps. This ap - proach reflects the Acquisition Trans - formation Strategy’s principle that money must follow need, ensuring that investments are concentrated
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where they deliver the greatest read - iness gains while reducing second destination transportation costs and avoiding duplication across the in - dustrial base. As these bilateral Pathway Proj - ects demonstrate the tangible bene - fits of co-sustainment in action, they also lay the groundwork for broader strategic coordination. The lessons learned and trust built through these efforts serve as a springboard for expanding into multilateral forums, where shared priorities and comple - mentary capabilities can be aligned across regions and domains. This evolution from bilateral execution to multilateral synchronization re - flects the department’s commitment to institutionalizing co-sustainment as a foundational element of global logistics resilience. RSF also aligns with the depart - ment’s shift to portfolio acquisition executives by providing a sustain - ment perspective that spans multi - ple systems and regions. Co-sustain- ment networks are inherently cross- platform and cross-domain, enabling portfolio leaders to make trade-offs that optimize readiness across fami - lies of systems rather than within isolated programs. By embedding sustainment considerations into portfolio management, RSF ensures that acquisition decisions account for life-cycle support, industrial base re - silience, and allied collaboration from the outset. The United States is advancing co-sustainment through a network
of bilateral and multilateral forums that emphasize shared logistics, in - dustrial collaboration, and regional resilience. Bilateral efforts, such as the U.S.–Singapore Joint Logistics Bilateral Forum and the U.S.–Korea Logistics Cooperation Committee, are driving progress in ship repair, afloat logistics, depot-level maintenance, and burden sharing. Initiatives with Japan and Aus - tralia are expanding forward storage and shared repair capacity. Bilateral mechanisms like the Australia–U.S. Defense Acquisition Capability Com - mittee’s Co-Sustainment Synchroni - zation Board are integrating MRO ac - tivities across shared platforms while shaping supply chain strategies to en - hance joint readiness. The Partnership for Indo-Pacific In - dustrial Resilience further strength - ens supply chains and promotes collaborative investment through a dedicated sustainment workstream. These engagements, especially with Five Eyes allies (United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand) and Indo-Pacific partners, reflect a growing consensus that co- sustainment is a shared enterprise that enhances the readiness and resil - ience of all participating stakeholders. Early co-sustainment efforts have underscored that trust and align - ment with partner priorities often matter more than technology. Small wins, such as successful ship repairs, shared warehousing, and multina - tional tabletop exercises, help build momentum and credibility. In turn,
multilateral forums amplify these bi - lateral successes by inspiring broader participation and replication. These dynamics are now accelerating across Services, nations, and domains. As a result, the department, its allies, and industry are positioned to move from experimentation to institutionaliza - tion, where co-sustainment becomes the norm rather than the exception. RSF partnerships with allies, part - ners, and the organic industrial base offer industry an opportunity to part - ner on readiness, driving support for components that may lack com - pelling business cases, while also opening new markets for trade. For example, a U.S. original equipment manufacturer is working with U.S. al - lies to establish airborne radar and electro-optical/infrared component maintenance sites in both Europe and the Pacific to reduce repair times and cut second-destination transit costs. This is not the only case—many other companies both big and small are le - veraging increased ally spending and the call for developing dispersed co- sustainment capabilities. RSF and co-sustainment partnerships pro - vide venues for meaningful collabo - ration between all partners and op - portunities to synchronize individual strengths all in the name of speeding
support to the Warfighter. Economic Evaluation
One of the most effective ways to explain the benefit of co-sustainment is through the concept of comparative advantage. This idea, long familiar in
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economics, recognizes that differ - ent entities, in this case nations, can bring unique strengths to a shared enterprise. Rather than each nation attempting to replicate every sustain - ment function on its own, compara - tive advantage fosters an environ - ment where allies and partners can bring their strengths to the fight in a complementary fashion. Applied to sustainment, compara - tive advantage creates opportuni - ties for burden sharing. An ally with world-class shipyard facilities can readily provide support as a regional hub for repair. A partner nation with expansive storage infrastructure can provide access to forward warehous - ing for munitions or spare parts. An - other ally may offer advanced tech - nical expertise that enables repair or overhaul of specialized components. By linking these strengths together under the RSF, the department and its partners can build networks that are more resilient, more affordable, closer to the point of need, and there - fore more responsive to the War- fighter. This approach also helps over - come perceptions that sustainment is a zero-sum endeavor. When com - parative advantage is applied, every participant gains from the arrange - ment. The United States benefits from access to forward locations and specialized expertise, while allies and partners gain greater integration with U.S. logistics, increased investment in their industrial bases, and enhanced resilience in their own defense sus - tainment systems. RSF seeks to syn - chronize these comparative advan - tages to ensure that the United States as well as its allies and partners have an absolute advantage in times of competition, crisis, or conflict. Going back to the Pathway Proj - ects and the bilateral and multilat - eral efforts, we can see that burden sharing through comparative advan - tage is already taking shape. Shared warehousing arrangements in select regions are reducing duplication and
creating efficiencies. Joint MRO ini - tiatives are shortening timelines for returning equipment to the fight, for - ward storage efforts are ensuring the materiel is postured ahead of need, and this is just the beginning! Collab - orative planning forums are identify - ing areas where one partner’s excess capacity can relieve pressure on an - other. These examples show that the comparative advantage of RSF and co-sustainment is more than the - ory—it is delivering tangible results to the Warfighter. While strategy provides the frame - work for co-sustainment, its success depends on the people who see and respond to the sustainment chal - lenges every day. Product Support Managers (PSMs) and sustainment professionals in the field serve as the sensors of the enterprise. They know where the true bottlenecks are and can highlight constraints. They are the ones to perhaps best recognize opportunities for co-sustainment. Too often, sustainment is viewed as a headquarters-driven and op - timized initiative. That said, sus - tainment is most effective when informed by those closest to the mis - sion. PSMs bring an understanding of supply chain function at the unit level, where availability is measured not in abstract readiness reports but by the ability of a squadron or bat - talion to execute its mission. Their feedback helps shape sustainment strategies that are realistic, targeted, and responsive to actual operational demands. PSMs will increasingly col - laborate with acquisition leaders trained under initiatives such as the Warfighting Acquisition University, ensuring that sustainment strate - gies keep pace with the operational demands and align with the depart - ment’s broader transformation goals. RSF also contributes directly to requirements reform by capturing sustainment needs at the grassroots RSF and Co-Sustainment Begin at the Grassroots
PSMs and sustainment professionals identify bottlenecks and gaps in real time, ensuring that requirements are not abstract or delayed but grounded in operational reality.
level and feeding them back into ac - quisition planning. PSMs and sustain - ment professionals identify bottle - necks and gaps in real time, ensuring that requirements are not abstract or delayed but grounded in operational reality. This feedback loop shortens the path from need to solution, align - ing with the Acquisition Transforma - tion Strategy’s call for streamlined, responsive requirements processes that deliver capability at the speed of relevance Field expertise is particularly im - portant in contested logistics envi - ronments, where small disruptions can quickly cascade into larger prob - lems. A delay in the delivery of a criti - cal part, a lack of forward storage, or an unexpected repair requirement can affect not only one platform but an entire operation. PSMs are often the first to recognize these risks, and their insight is essential for build - ing solutions that anticipate and prevent breakdowns. Going forward, we need your help in identifying what is next for co- sustainment. By elevating the role of PSMs and integrating their observa - tions into co-sustainment Pathway
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