Defence Industry Procurement, Acquisition and Lifecycle Management

Course aim

To recognise, articulate and understand the various practices of defence acquisition from a history of in-government generated capabilities with publicly-owned armouries through to procurement of capabilities from global, overlapping commercial sectors through competition. Students will be able to understand and analyse the benefits and risks of procurement preferences and locate defence acquisition within understandings of programme lifecycle management.

Course content

This course will introduce the components and complexities of international defence acquisition and focus in part on global companies competing for market share. We will explore the challenges of procurement through the lens of sovereignty overlaid with the critiques of inter-dependency and national economic returns on defence investments. The role of the government as a capability integrator will be explored as well as the practice of prime contractors as systems’ integrators. In particular, we will explore and interrogate:
models of acquisition;
the defence acquisition cycle and through-life project management;
defence competition and commercial campaigns;
technology generation, management and notions of intellectual property as sovereign wealth;
the roles of intellectual property, knowledge and competencies in international collaborations;
critiques of defence acquisition in a century of strategic defeat.
We will apply these themes and learnings to worked programme examples such as the F35 aircraft programme and the Type 26/Hunter Class frigate programme.

Students will learn how to summarize the key elements of the multiple and contested practices of defence acquisition and review the effects these practices of defence acquisition have on the generation of defence capabilities. On completion of the course, students will be able to scrutinize, analyse and evaluate the condition of defence acquisition and disciplines such as through-life management, and their significance to the military components of nations.

Textbook(s)

Nil

Prerequisite(s)

Nil

Corequisite(s)

Teaching method

Note: These components may or may not be scheduled in every study period. Please refer to the timetable for further details.

Assessment

Reflection, Report

Fees

EFTSL*: 0.125
Commonwealth Supported program (Band 4C)
To determine the fee for this course as part of a Commonwealth Supported program, go to:
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Fee-paying program for domestic and international students
International students and students undertaking this course as part of a postgraduate fee paying program must refer to the relevant program home page to determine the cost for undertaking this course.

Non-award enrolment
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* Equivalent Full Time Study Load. Please note: all EFTSL values are published and calculated at ten decimal places. Values are displayed to three decimal places for ease of interpretation.