Rapid Fire March 12, 2012: Acquisition Fully Burdened with Cost of Energy

• The US Department of Defense published an implementation plan for the operational energy strategy [both PDFs] it released last year. Energy considerations will be made part of modeling/simulation and requirements, and acquisition plans will have to incorporate Fully Burdened Cost of Energy (FBCE) analyses, in line with a recent Navy issuance [PDF]. In November last year the Navy set up an Operational Energy in Acquisition Team (EN-ACQT) to embed energy considerations in all acquisitions. Some of these goals will be tough to achieve: the Pentagon’s plan reflects the Air Force’s recent realization that 10% jet fuel burn reduction was not going to happen by 2015; the deadline to meet that goal is now 2020.

• Saving energy money involves engineering smarter procedures, not just more effective engines. Langley AFB has been testing an aircraft fueling system that reduces the need to shuffle trucks back and forth.

• The latest CBRNIAC newsletter [PDF] has an article on the chemical agent detection capability the US Navy plans to add to many of its ships by the end of 2018. Known as the Improved Point Detection Sytem – Lifecycle Replacement (IDPS-LR), it was recently installed on USS Mason (DDG 87). 35 ships are scheduled for upgrade this year, with DDG-110, DDG-83 and LPD-19 next in line.