NATO Continuous Acquisition and Life Cycle Support CALS

NATO Continuous Acquisition & Life-Cycle Support (CALS) The paper commence with a brief background and definition for CALS followed by an introduction. Addressed next is a glance at the Multi-National Program perspective, view of the government, industrialists and business for CALS. What is NATO CALS, its mission, basic components and polices are briefed in the next section. At the same time, how its goes digital is also highlighted briefly in the paper.

From the Defense System (DS) perspective, to close overview of the Staged Process for Through Life Information Management (TLIM) and Life Information Management (LIM), gives a clear vision of how NATO Continuous Acquisition & Life-Cycle Support (CALS) should go about. Background & Definition Proposed in 1985, the United States Department of Defense introduced the Continuous Acquisition and Life-cycle Support (CALS) in order to increase the digital product information use and; obtain and support defense systems.

Thus, CALS can be described as a combined government / industry policy that focuses on reengineering existing business development into extremely mechanized and integrated defense system life-cycle management process. However, life cycle, in this framework includes the perception, pattern / development, construction, retaining and organizing of a defense system (DS). Introduction The main objective of CALS is to decrease defense system time to market, while, at the same time, cut down its total ownership cost, resulting in the improved quality, across the life cycle.

To handle the DS technical information based on international standards, the information Technology (IT) is used as an enabler to support the implementation and utilization of a shared data environment. However, the CALS philosophy includes the implementation of a rational style in order to manage the manufacturing, entry, supervision, maintenance, delivery and recycling of digital technical information. In order to accomplish very targeted government-industry business objectives, the CALS policy incorporates multi-disciplinary work groups (MDG), business process re-engineering (BPR), IT, simultaneous engineering (CE), and electronic commerce/electronic data interchange (EC/EDI).

Also, CALS addresses the total lifecycle of a Defence System owned by NATO or a country. Thus, the Continuous Acquisition side of CALS signifies optimizing customer-contractor processes during the perception, pattern/develop and construct stages. The Multi-National Program Perspective Operated in a setting of extra-ordinary involvedness, the Multi-national defense system programs can be illustrated in figure 1: Figure 1: Multi- National Defence System Program Different Perspectives On the government side of a defense system, individual national offices, within contributing countries support typically an international project office.

This office looks after the relationship with industry. This program is supported by one or more prime contractors of the industrial side, formed by parent companies, from usually several countries. These prime contractors communicate with a complete chain of sub-contractors well as suppliers, who mostly supply more or less the same equipment to other Armed Forces and to commercial customers. While, on the business side, many of these business processes essentially obtain and support the defense system that requires the distribution / exchange of data across this wide supply chain.

However, the operational unit may require the data formed by a supplier in the project lifecycle after many years at different locations. NATO CALS The Conference of National Armaments Directors (CNAD) in 1989 took over all NATO CALS issues by setting up a CALS working group under Allied Committee 301 (Standardization of Material and Engineering Practices) subgroup D. The CNAD in 1993 authorized the creation of the NATO CALS Organization, which was made responsible for the direction of al CALS activities being operated within NATO.

Thus, the main objective of NATO CALS is to make better speed, increase quality, decrease time to market, and lower the costs of total lifecycle. Funded by eleven of the 19 NATO Nations, NATO CALS is a joint activity to improve NATO's skills to make use of information and communications technology, in the attainment and lifecycle support of complex DSs.

The mission of NATO CALS is: To boost interoperability, reduce the costs of defense equipment lifecycle, guarantee the promptness of NATO forces and lessen purchasing lead times, By assisting continuous development of business processes, By using international standards and practices, application of advanced tools and technologies, along with growing co-operation with industry, By creating an opportunity for NATO industry in order to improve its global competitiveness.

NATO CALS Components: NATO CALS has three main functions: The NATO CALS Management Board (NCMB) meets thrice a year in order manage the work program Strategic Plan. Under the leadership of the NCMB, the NATO CALS Office (NCO) established in 1994, execute CALS within NATO. 3. The NATO Industrial CALS Group (NICG) offers industrial advice and assistance. CALS Policy and Strategy.

The Strategic Plan provides a short- and long-term approach, in which the short-term approach promote the utmost use of existing commercial tools across the government or the industry boundary for new NATO DS programs. On the other hand, the long-term approach recommends the progress of new information standards for product lifecycle support data to build up the ability to distribute technical data across the complete Defence System setting. NATO CALS Digital NATO CALS are going to be digital now.

This they will be doing by using COTS and industry solutions, as well as by adopting international standards wherever there is potential. However, it has been suggested that these programs should also adopt a "Through Life Management"(TLM) approach in order to program management and vision information as an benefit that utilizes a "Through Life Information Management" (TLIM) philosophy, which is executed through a "Shared Data Environment." The three programs are discussed in detail. Through Life Management This is a business strategy that.