Chapter 8: Capability Development, Support and Sustainment Strategy
A good capability development, support and sustainment strategy leads to lower through-life system costs as well as increased system availability and ensures the system remains relevant over time. In the RCAF, capability development, support and sustainability processes are clearly established, flowing from CAF FD policy. Attention is required, however, in capturing training development, support and sustainment in an integrated fashion. New training requirements have generally been captured through the training component of PRICIE in major and minor projects. Given recent advances in TEL and the FAFTS vision of embracing training technology, the RCAF must move beyond the traditional method of developing training capability as strictly an element of capital projects, to a strategy that views the entire FAFTS as a distinct capability stream in its own right. This will require good governance and an understanding of stakeholder roles. This chapter outlines the FAFTS strategy to develop, support and sustain the future training system.
Training Capability and Integration
The RCAF continuously procures and updates a wide range of equipment to sustain platforms and meet operational requirements. Major training systems introduced by capital acquisition projects within the materiel-acquisition system are subject to systematic life-cycle-support processes that are well planned and sustained throughout their useful lives. Other training assets acquired by the FAFTS during and in support of training must have a well-defined support and sustainment strategy. All training and training support systems, regardless of the means of procurement, need to be guided by a training-system capability support and sustainment strategy. As such, appropriate development, support and sustainment processes must be established.
The establishment of a separate training capability-development process that includes the right RCAF and CAF stakeholders will ensure the alignment of training capabilities between the development of organic learning support systems and capital procurement projects. Through integrated options analysis, definition, implementation and continuous feedback mechanisms, training capability gaps and sustainment requirements can be identified and resolved to ensure the training system remains relevant. Capability development must be approached holistically by establishing the right governance mechanisms to ensure 1 Cdn Air Div, 2 Cdn Air Div (TA), 3 CSD, the RCAF AWC, DG Air & Space Rdns, DGASRAR, Director General Air and Space Force Development, and Assistant Deputy Minister (Materiel) training capability elements are developed consistently with the goals of the FAFTS strategy. This means ensuring the right hardware and software are procured, regardless of the procurement mechanism or authority. This also means ensuring the right governance exists to integrate infrastructure planning.
Support and sustainment must be considered as part of the training capability-development process. Existing or new in-service support contracts must be leveraged to provide efficient support through the life cycles of new equipment, including those developed and purchased through L2s. This will require 2 Cdn Air Div to assume a larger leadership role in the integration of development, support and sustainment for the RCAF and to move the organization to a more coherent system of systems. This will also require careful attention to the integration process, as the FAFTS is envisioned to be developed over a period of years. Indeed, the end state becomes a moving target, as the increased availability of new technology will need to be considered on an ongoing basis. Understanding and leveraging new technology and integrating chosen capabilities into new and existing curricula on an ongoing basis, while ensuring support and sustainment is well managed, will become a critical role in the future—one that requires openness and understanding between stakeholders through good governance and a common vision.
(RCAF Strategy / RCAF CP –
Modernize for tomorrow)
Strategic Partnerships
The support and sustainment of the FAFTS will increasingly rely on relationships with external partners. As mentioned in the CAF Campus Operational Framework, training delivery can be optimized by harnessing private and other public training and education programmes. When the FAFTS chooses to deliver training in this manner, appropriate in-service support must be established for the maintenance of key elements of the training systems. Additionally, the FAFTS will similarly work with CAF allies and expand upon areas of training collaboration wherein mutual benefit results.
Ultimately, the RCAF will not go it alone when sustaining, managing and delivering training. The creation of long-term, agile, flexible, cost-effective and efficient relationships with non-RCAF actors will afford the system economies of scale and effort. This will increase the FAFTS's ability to generate effective forces while eliminating redundancy through coherence and compatibility in which rapid, agile FG is obtained for optimal cost and maximum through-life sustainment.
(RCAF Strategy / RCAF CP –
Engage and partner for success)
Resources
The modernization of the legacy RCAF training system will require resources. However, modernization will ultimately enable the achievement of long-term defence resource savings. Numerous resource streams can be synchronized and leveraged to modernize the AFTS. As discussed, the challenge is ensuring synchronization of the available strategic resources to meet the desired strategic end state. Enabling this effort will require pan-RCAF/CAF approaches, closely linked to allied training initiatives and managed through good governance. Given the scope of this modernization effort of RCAF FG tools, challenges in communication, governance and synchronization should be expected. However, these challenges must be overcome to ensure that required strategic resources are provided in a timely manner.
As new FAFTS capabilities are introduced, they must be supported and sustained using the right resources. FD processes are designed to ensure new systems are procured with capital and/or Vote 5 funding, operated and maintained with operation and maintenance funding, and periodically updated with non-public funding until the end of their life cycles. Too often, training assets were procured using inappropriate opportunity funding sources, often based solely on live training and real weapon systems being central to the training construct. Whereas this had relatively little impact in the past due to the relatively minor costs associated with these assets, the evolution of training technologies' complexity and interdependency raises acquisition/development, support and sustainment costs. A focus on striking the correct balance between live and synthetic training devices will be a key part of future acquisition and resourcing strategies.