Partnering for test - does it work?

Government partnering with industry for operational flight program (OFP) software test and evaluation is not a new concept. The intent of this paper is to show how the focus of the US Air Force has changed to meet the demand of a more responsive and affordable logistics system through revised partnering concepts and how it applies to software test. To understand what, why and how changes in the logistics process have materialized, a comparison must first be made to reflect the deltas of pre-1990 logistics processes to current day reformed processes for software sustainment and how these processes evolved over time. The intent of the paper is to iterate that government and industry partnering is indeed a win-win proposition for the strength of our national defense.