Pentagon acquisition chief Ellen Lord wants life-cycle and sustainment costs to be key considerations for any middle-tier acquisition program seeking the use of rapid fielding authority, according to a recent memo from her office. “Systems planned for rapid fielding must develop an affordable sustainment strategy, beginning with designing sustainment attributes, such as maintainability and reliability, into system specifications and requirements,” Lord's memo states. Lord's March 20 memo notes that such considerations are required by law, specifically Section 804 of the...