Acquisition, Technology and Logistics

Acquisition, Technology and Logistics
Name	Acquisition, Technology and Logistics
Abbreviation	AT&L
Formation	2012
Jurisdiction	United States
Headquarters	The Pentagon
Chief1 name	Ashton Carter
Chief1 position	Under Secretary (former)

Contents

Acquisition, Technology and Logistics is a senior organizational function responsible for procurement, research, development, testing, fielding, and sustainment of defense systems, materiel, and services across the United States Department of Defense. It coordinates among executive offices, congressional committees, industry primes, and research laboratories to deliver capabilities used by the United States Armed Forces, including the United States Army, United States Navy, United States Air Force, United States Marine Corps, and United States Space Force. Its mission intersects with national security strategy documents and interagency partners such as the Department of Homeland Security, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Department of Energy, and international allies.

Overview and Mission

The mission emphasizes rapid acquisition, lifecycle management, and technological superiority to support operations like those under United States Central Command, United States European Command, and United States Indo-Pacific Command. It aligns with strategic guidance from the National Security Council, the Quadrennial Defense Review, the National Defense Authorization Act, and the Goldwater–Nichols Act. Collaboration occurs with defense primes such as Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon Technologies, and General Dynamics, as well as with prime contractors and subcontractors across supply chains that include firms like BAE Systems, L3Harris Technologies, and Honeywell. Interoperability priorities reference standards set by NATO and partnerships with allies including United Kingdom, Australia, Japan, South Korea, and NATO Allied Command Transformation.

Leadership roles have been held by officials such as Ashton Carter, Frank Kendall, and assistant secretaries coordinating portfolios for research, testing, acquisition, and sustainment. The structure interfaces with service acquisition executives in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Defense Contract Management Agency, the Defense Logistics Agency, and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence for cross-domain requirements. It works with congressional oversight from committees like the United States Senate Committee on Armed Services and the United States House Armed Services Committee, and audit bodies including the Government Accountability Office and the Department of Defense Inspector General. Senior leaders often liaise with the Chief of Naval Operations, the Chief of Staff of the Army, the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, and the Commandant of the Marine Corps.

Acquisition processes span requirements definition, prototyping, competitive procurement, source selection, testing, and fielding for programs such as the F-35 Lightning II, Virginia-class submarine, Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, MQ-9 Reaper, M1 Abrams, and Patriot (missile) systems. Programs follow statutory frameworks established in the Federal Acquisition Regulation and reporting requirements under the Defense Acquisition System and milestone reviews influenced by the Joint Requirements Oversight Council. Acquisition programs are overseen using metrics developed with institutions like the Rand Corporation, Center for Strategic and International Studies, and Brookings Institution, and they must consider exportability under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations and foreign military sales through the Defense Security Cooperation Agency.

Technology efforts coordinate research from laboratories such as the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Office of Naval Research, Air Force Research Laboratory, and the Army Research Laboratory, and with academic partners including Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Georgia Institute of Technology, and University of California, Berkeley. Innovation pipelines leverage programs like Small Business Innovation Research program, consortia with MITRE Corporation, and collaborations with innovators from Silicon Valley, startups incubated by Y Combinator, and corporate ventures such as Palantir Technologies. Technology areas include hypersonics demonstrated in tests like those by DARPA Falcon Project, artificial intelligence researched in initiatives linked to Defense Innovation Unit, quantum information explored in projects with National Institute of Standards and Technology, and space systems coordinated with United States Space Command and agencies like SpaceX and Blue Origin.

Sustainment operations rely on supply chain management executed by the Defense Logistics Agency, depot maintenance at facilities such as Anniston Army Depot and Fleet Readiness Center, and transportation coordinated with the Military Sealift Command, Air Mobility Command, and Surface Deployment and Distribution Command. Logistics supports expeditionary operations exemplified by campaigns like Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom, and contingency responses including humanitarian missions linked to U.S. Northern Command and disaster relief efforts after events like Hurricane Katrina. Materiel readiness metrics are tracked alongside inventory systems used by the Defense Finance and Accounting Service and logistics research by Naval Postgraduate School.

Budgeting engages with budget submission processes to the Office of Management and Budget and authorizations set by the United States Congress in the annual National Defense Authorization Act. Contracting mechanisms include firm-fixed-price, cost-plus, and Other Transaction Authorities used in agreements with firms like MITRE Corporation and Science Applications International Corporation. Oversight and audit involve the Government Accountability Office, Department of Defense Inspector General, and legal review by the Pentagon Force Protection Agency and Judge Advocate General's Corps offices. Financial controls intersect with programs audited under Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation and reporting to officials such as the Secretary of Defense and the President of the United States.

Persistent challenges include supply chain vulnerabilities revealed by incidents affecting firms like Northrup Grumman suppliers, cost overruns seen in programs such as Zumwalt-class destroyer and KC-46 Pegasus, and schedule slippages noted in the F-35 Lightning II program. Reform initiatives draw on recommendations from commissions like the Commission on the National Defense Strategy, the Nunn–McCurdy Amendment enforcement actions, and legislative changes advocated by leaders such as William Cohen and Les Aspin. Modernization efforts incorporate commercial best practices promoted by entities including Deloitte, McKinsey & Company, and Boston Consulting Group, and leverage acquisition reforms enacted in statutes influenced by the Clinger–Cohen Act and procurement pilots with the Defense Innovation Unit Experimental.