Commercial & NDI

In response to user requirements, decision makers should always give priority consideration to the most cost-effective solution over the system's life cycle. Users and program managers should first consider the procurement of commercially available products, services, and technologies to satisfy user needs. Commercial items include domestic or international technologies, systems, or equipment. Non-developmental Items (NDI) include systems or equipment previously developed for the U.S. or Allied military or for other government agencies. Thorough market research and analysis must be conducted to determine the availability, suitability, supportability, interoperability, and ease of integration of existing commercial technologies and products and of non-developmental items. When feasible, the acquisition and warfighting communities must work together to modify requirements to facilitate such procurements.

International Cooperative Development

If commercial or NDI products will not satisfy requirements, a development effort involving our Allies may be the best approach. DoD places great weight on Allied participation in DoD acquisition programs through cooperative development and production. Foreign sales of U.S. equipment is another benefit. Accordingly, acquisition strategy developers should consider the potential for foreign participation. The Joint Strike Fighter is a good example of leveraging our Allies to develop a system that will benefit all.

Systems acquisition is the process of translating concepts into producible, deployable products that provide capability to the user. Generally, procurement or modification of existing DoD or Allied systems is the most cost- and schedule-effective option. However, if existing military systems cannot be economically used or modified to meet the operational requirement, a "new start" may be justified. If a new start strategy is chosen, acquisition decision makers should follow this hierarchy of alternatives:

Joint Development

Some new developments may be best suited to be a joint program. Joint development can provide the benefits of: Cost savings in acquisition and sustainment Increased standardization Greater interoperability among services

Component Unique

If the previous options are not feasible, a component-unique (service-specific) development may be required. This option is usually driven by unique aspects of the Army, Navy, Marine, or Air Force missions. Even though component-unique developments may not realize the cost or schedule benefits as in other options, they can result in less complex requirements and provide greater latitude when performing cost-schedule-performance tradeoffs.

1. Commercial or Non-developmental Items (NDI)
    2. International Cooperative Development
        3. Joint Development
            4. Component-unique Development