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 –
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