This report details the findings of the Defense Science Board Summer Study on Weapon Development and Production Technology. This Task Force was formed as a follow-up to last year's DSB recommendations regarding the need for a manufacturing technology strategy for the Department of Defense. In addition to the delineations in the Terms of Reference, the following general questions were posed for this study: Given reduced defense budgets, fewer programs, stretched out production far below past economic production rates, overcapacity, a shrinking industrial base, and reluctance of second/third tier suppliers and many commercial producers to participate in the defense industry. (1) How does one achieve unit production cost to a level at, or near equal to, that of higher production rates? (2) How does one incentivize the second/third tier, and commercial producers (where appropriate) to participate in the defense market? (3) How does one mitigate the past record of schedule slippages and cost growth on major programs, through improvements in the efficiency of the production process? (4) Given that production surge capability may be increasingly limited, how does one protect reconstitution of this capability?

This report details the findings of the Defense Science Board Summer Study on Weapon Development and Production Technology. This Task Force was formed as a follow-up to last year's DSB recommendations regarding the need for a manufacturing technology strategy for the Department of Defense. In addition to the delineations in the Terms of Reference, the following general questions were posed for this study: Given reduced defense budgets, fewer programs, stretched out production far below past economic production rates, overcapacity, a shrinking industrial base, and reluctance of second/third tier suppliers and many commercial producers to participate in the defense industry. (1) How does one achieve unit production cost to a level at, or near equal to, that of higher production rates? (2) How does one incentivize the second/third tier, and commercial producers (where appropriate) to participate in the defense market? (3) How does one mitigate the past record of schedule slippages and cost growth on major programs, through improvements in the efficiency of the production process? (4) Given that production surge capability may be increasingly limited, how does one protect reconstitution of this capability?

This report presents the recommendations of the Defense Science Board (DSB) Summer Study Task Force on Engineering in the Manufacturing Process. The terms of reference (TOR) for this Task Force represent a logical continuation of DSB manufacturing studies performed in prior years, particularly in the areas of integrated product and process development (IPPD)2and dual-use-manufacturing. In this study, however, the primary focus is on Science and Technology (S & T) and the application of IPPD and dual-use concepts even earlier than previous studies have recommended. During its study, the Task Force addressed engineering and manufacturing management and technology approaches that can be used to achieve a better product and process balance in the S & T phase, which precedes the formal acquisition process, and that result in both unit production and total life cycle cost reduction. It chose S & T "exit criteria" and metrics as the means to demonstrate process as well as performance capability during the S & T phase and to reduce downstream acquisition risks. The Task Force also examined a key enabler of IPPD and manufacturing enterprise control-advanced modeling and simulation technology. The work in this area by this Task Force relates to the work of another DSB Summer Study that specifically addressed simulation, the Readiness, Simulation, and Prototyping Task Force. The expanded use of best commercial products, practices, and manufacturing capabilities was also considered as an additional way to meet the Department of Defense (DOD) future needs for rapid transition to production and economic low-volume manufacturing. As a result of its deliberations, the Task Force developed specific recommendations for experiments to be conducted within S & T Advanced Technology Demonstrations (ATDs) to validate the benefits of the new recommended approaches to S & T contained in this report.