Collaborative virtual prototyping

The Department of Defense can no longer afford its present acquisition process. A naval research advisory committee recommended that a distributed simulation-based acquisition process approach be used to streamline acquisition and product support throughout all life cycle phases. Collaborative virtual prototyping (CVP) is the application of advanced information technology in the design, modeling, analysis, simulation, manufacturing, testing, and logistics to support the life cycle development of a system. The Applied Physics Laboratory supported the Naval Air Systems Command in conducting a study to determine the state of the art and state of practice of CVP technologies in the aircraft and electronics industries. The study found that commercial firms are using CVP technologies to maintain their competitive edge in world markets, and defense firms are rapidly adopting CVP technologies to remain competitive. Where CVP has been applied, cost savings of at least 20% have been realized while time to market has been reduced. The challenge now is for DoD acquisition officials to modify their processes to maximize the benefits of these emerging technologies.