QUESTION

Write and submit a one-page SINGLE-SPACED abstract on a major acquisition program that has occurred within the Department of Defense in the last decade, focusing on the T&E aspect of that program. This abstract will be used in conjunction with your final paper. An abstract is a single-spaced overview of an article or book in which one briefly identifies the main points and conclusions of the document with as few extraneous words as possible. When researching an article or book in the major academic search engines, you will often find an abstract first to help you decide if the article has the type of information you are looking for before reading it. Look at several for examples, then, submit an abstract in which you summarize a significant acquisition program. The paper must be in APA format and must include any references that you use to develop your findings. Submission Instructions: • Written communication: Written communication is free of errors that detract from the overall message. • APA formatting: Resources and citations are formatted according to APA style and formatting. • Font and font size: Times New Roman, 12 point.

ANSWER

Major Defense Acquisition Program

Over the last decade, the Department of Defense (DoD) has continually monitored
recent acquisition reforms to ensure that the United States weapon systems yield a decisive
and sustained military advantage and that it meets the warfighter needs. In 2019, under the
secretary of defense, the DoD was required to complete a cybersecurity vulnerability
evaluation for every major weapon system. The cybersecurity evaluations were undertaken
by program testers to identify the areas that were weak and most vulnerable to cyber-attacks
or hacking. DoD’s aim of the evaluations was to eliminate the possibility of cyberattacks that
could, if they happened, jeopardize mission execution. One of the major defense acquisition
programs under evaluation was the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile program.
Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile program was developed by Lockheed Martin
and it was designed to attack and destroy high-value enemy bases by launching missiles from
aircraft (airforce-technology, 2013). The program provides the warfighter with precise and
autonomous weapon that cannot be easily attacked by the enemy. Accordingly, the IT
security of Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile program is very important because any
infiltration by a hacker can reverse course and aim at the U.S bases. Therefore, conducted a
preliminary operational test and evaluation to determine the effectiveness and efficiency of
the program. Further, DoD has continually required that major defense acquisition programs
develop sustainable cybersecurity strategies and update all the subsequent milestones to
ensure watertight security of the weapon systems. Note that the United States military
weapon systems are almost fully-computerized (or software-enabled) and thus prone to
cyberattacks from all over the world (comptroller, 2020). A successful attack or infiltration
into the U.S military weapon systems can system malfunction, national security compromise,
and huge losses/damage.
Due to the increasing cybersecurity threats, DoD has held a long-term concern over
the federal IT programs specifically those that relate to U.S military weapon systems.
Consequently, regular checkups on the vulnerability of computer network systems have been
a key undertaking by the U.S government under DoD. So far, 93 major defense acquisition
programs have been reviewed and the department has spent over $48.3 billion on those
undertakings (comptroller, 2020). By April of 2019, DoD had identified further six additional
unbaselined major information systems for review, although the department is yet to validate
the cost of reviewing these programs. In the next few years, the DoD intends to spend at least
$1.81 trillion to acquire a total of 100 baselined weapon and IT programs in its major defense
acquisition programs portfolio (comptroller, 2020). That investment will include the research
and development as well as procurement costs for the 100 baselined weapon and IT
programs.
The huge investment in the MDAPs portfolio has shown a significant correlation
between the implementation of knowledge-based cybersecurity practices (cybersecurity
evaluations) and improved performance of IT security systems. Moreover, the investment has
also reduced the delays in the delivery of security software. In the Future, MDAPs plan to
increase system evaluations and implement knowledge-based practices to ensure that the U.S
military maintains a decisive advantage as far as safeguarding the country’s borders is