Impacts of the aircraft am-x's acquisition program (1982-1994) on technological management capability of the brazilian aeronautical command

Abstract

The AM - X Program (1982 - 1994) was an important military aircraft acquisition program developed with the aim of empowering the development of the Brazilian aeronautical industry. The program was carried out in partnership with the Italian Ministry of Aeronautics and its aviation industry. Brazil and Italy were the program holders , and they had t he industrial property of the program and neither one predominates over the other. The program occurred at the moment that Brazilian Aeronautical Command (COMAER) was developing its own capabilities to manage the acquisition program. It was considered that partnership with Italy could be very important to build the Brazilian structure of project management in the handling of c utting edge technologies . In fact, the growth of the number of complex programs managed by COMAER makes believe that the learning of AM - X Program has been relevant for such achievement. However, few studies have examined the relationship between the deve lopment of acquisition programs and the constitution of technological management capabilities in COMAER. In general, the literature focus on project management (PMBOK, 2004; CMMI, 2010; and PRINCE , 2009 ) and on acquisition system ( Directive 5000.01 and Ins truction 5000.02; Defense Acquisition Guidebook , 2012; Department of Defense Extension to PMBOK Guide, 2003; and Brown, 2010). T here is scarcity of studies that connect cases of defense programs and the building of management technological capabilities in the main responsible organization. So, a retrospective analysis was carried out based on the negotiation model used in the AM - X program , the structure built by COMAER to manage the program, field research , and the law background of the Brazilian acquisitio n system . A documentary survey was conducted in 2011 to analyze the Memorandum of Understanding between Brazil and Italy, the main contracts, other regulations and the documents available at the central library of the Coordinating Committee of the Combat A ircraft Program (COPA C ) and at the office management of the AM - X program. Open interviews with the Manager of the AM - X program and his team were performed, aiming to raise the general program guidelines . The main results showed that relevant management capabilities constructed a t COPAC could be attributed to the learning processes achieved through the AM - X Program, which were reflected mainly on the development of the integrated life cycle management process of aeronautics system and materials, which was documented at DCA400 - 6 (1992). This process is highly complex and set the base for a systematic methodology for military acquisitions that continues to evolve as more programs are developed.