PRODUCT SUPPORT
Te wars of the 20th century demonstrated what every com- mander instinctively understands: Logistics wins wars. In to- day’s contested environment, however, product support must be viewed as more than “spares and repairs.” Te sustainment enterprise has evolved into a complex ecosystem encompassing maintenance, distribution, services, IT, technical data, train- ing, facilities, and planning. Te Department of War’s Acquisi- tion Transformation Strategy emphasizes that these elements must be delivered through agile pathways and deliberate in- tegration of commercial product support to ensure resilience and readiness.
Product support transforms equip - ment into combat power, increasingly delivered as services rather than end items. Commercial product support provides scale, flexibility, and exper - tise, complementing organic capa - bilities. The PRESCIENT OX tabletop exercise (TTX) reinforced the Trans - formation Strategy’s principle that commercial elements are integral to product support. Without delib - erate integration of industry into planning and operations, the Joint Force cannot sustain combat power in contested environments. In March 2025, the Joint Staff J4 (Logistics Directorate), J8 (Force Structure, Resources, and Assess - ment Directorate), the International Stability Operations Association (ISOA), and industry partners con - ducted PRESCIENT OX to examine cri - sis escalation in the Indo-Pacific Com - mand (USINDOPACOM) region and identify requirements for commercial partners. The results confirmed that
industry is essential for deterrence, combat effectiveness, and resilience against adversaries targeting sup - ply chains, ports, and networks. This aligns directly with the Transforma - tion Strategy’s call to embed logistics resilience into operational planning. The exercise highlighted that com - mercial support plays a vital role in both deterrence and combat effec - tiveness. As adversaries increasingly target supply chains, ports, and infor - mation networks, it becomes crucial to weave logistics resilience—lever - aging commercial assets—into the very fabric of operational planning. PRESCIENT OX demonstrated that industry is essential for both scale and reach in the Indo-Pacific, where distance, time, and geography pose significant sustainment challenges. Exercise design. The TTX involved 91 participants from across the Joint Staff, USINDOPACOM, U.S. Transpor - tation Command, Department of War, Defense Logistics Agency, Five
Eye partners (the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zea - land, and Canada), and industry. The exercise focused on the follow - ing four dimensions central to the Transformation Strategy: • The speed at which commercial partners can scale support during crisis • The risks and limitations in con- tested environments • The strategies for integrating commercial support into military planning • The required protections for com- mercial assets Speed of response. PRESCIENT OX demonstrated that commercial partners can surge capabilities rap - idly, but only with early notice and integration. The Transformation Strategy emphasizes agile acquisition pathways, and PRESCIENT OX con - firmed that commercial product sup - port requires more than contracts—it demands early communication net - works and planning to enable speed measured in days, not weeks. Risks and limitations. Commer - cial support carries vulnerabilities, particularly in contested environ - ments where adversaries target supply lines and infrastructure. The Transformation Strategy highlights resilience as a core principle, requir - ing frameworks for protection and
Te Department of War’s Acquisition Transformation Strategy emphasizes that these elements must be delivered through
agile pathways and deliberate integration of commercial product support to ensure resilience and readiness.
JANUARY FEBRUARY 2026 | DEFENSE ACQUISITION MAGAZINE 33 –
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