Regional Sustainment Framework

The Regional Sustainment Framework (RSF) is the Department of Defense's answer to ensuring that the Joint Force is supported by sustainment strategies that are responsive, resilient, and ready to deliver in a contested logistics environment. It serves as a vital planning tool enabling the U.S. to respond rapidly to an increasingly challenging and complex security landscape.

Key principles of the RSF include:

• Rapid regeneration of materiel readiness, particularly in contested environments
• Postures theaters of operation in a more distributed fashion, capitalizing on partnership and partner capabilities
• Establishes distributed maintenance and repair capabilities forward
• Leverages regional Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) capabilities of partner nations, industrial partners, or through cooperative partnerships ... particularly for shared weapon systems operated by allies and partners
• Accounts for geographic distribution, regional sustainment, and demands of US and partner nations in "competition and conflict"
• Provides a more stable picture of demand, informs investment decisions, and increases the agility and resiliency of the Joint Force and defense ecosystem (principles of the National Defense Strategy and Integrated Deterrence)

The RSF Vision: Establish a globally connected, resilient defense ecosystem through collaborative regional sustainment strategies that leverage the strengths of our allies, partners, and the Defense Industrial Base, thus, ensuring the materiel readiness of the force in a contested logistics environment.

RSF Overview: 

• The RSF is the DoD’s answer to ensuring the Joint Force is supported by sustainment strategies that are responsive, resilient, and ready to deliver in a contested logistics environment.
• The RSF aligns the U.S., international partners, and industry in a more closely linked collaborative context.
• The RSF will change MRO strategies to better equip the Warfighter with a network of globally dispersed capabilities that deliver MRO closer to the point of need and deliver maintenance capability where and when needed in a collective and resilient co-sustainment ecosystem for planning and execution

The RSF is related to two DoD strategies:

• Operationalizes the National Defense Strategy call for a more integrated and resilient defense posture; and

• Supports the National Defense Industrial Strategy emphasis on leveraging global partnerships

   

The RSF includes three goals:

1. Prevail in a Contested Logistics Environment - DoD will optimize and align weapon system product support strategies and sustainment capabilities to establish a distributed MRO ecosystem that remains viable in peacetime and meets surge requirements during crises and conflicts. The Military Services will evaluate current MRO capabilities, expand existing MRO capabilities, and/or establish new MRO partnerships with allies and partners, across multiple operational domains.

2. Enhance Military Readiness - DoD will collaborate with allies and partners to understand national defense security priorities, build regionally focused product support and sustainment strategies, collaboratively develop competencies and capabilities, and increase the Joint and allied force’s ability to: rapidly regenerate readiness; respond to persistent threats; and deter regional aggressions.

3. Strengthen Regional Partnerships - DoD will build a collective and resilient co-sustainment ecosystem by developing sustainment strategies that promote joint/allied regional MRO; and foster collaborative relationships that expand repair network capacity across warfighting domains.

The Framework includes the following elements:

• Regionalization and Prioritization - this element prioritizes and aligns MRO partnership lines of effort based on strategic importance and operational requirements. Key considerations include: strategic relevance, threat recognition, geo-political sensitivity, and regional focus.
• Strategic Partnership Alignment - this element leverages strengths, exploits mutually beneficial opportunities, and fosters a unified approach to regional co-sustainment, including: deliberate integration and enhancing shared capability
• Platform and Systems Approach - this element prioritizes critical platforms, identifies gaps in regional support, and bridges shortfalls. It targets systems based on relevance to operational plans, Foreign Military Sales (FMS), other cooperative programs, and potential for MRO collaboration, considering the following: strategic importance, international relevance, maintenance needs, security, retrograde, and international industry capacity
• Industrial Base Integration - this element promotes partnership with the global defense industry and explores ways to encourage industry investment and includes: establishing predictable demand, accelerating partnerships, integrating Product Support Strategies, capital investments, inter-agency alignment, and compliance and monitoring

Summary

• DoD sustainment strategies must evolve to prioritize development of a network of regional MRO and sustainment capabilities
• RSF recognizes the inherent advantages and resiliency from using resources provided by allies, partners, and the defense industrial base
• RSF employs an integrated approach to sustainment, tying regional partnerships and capabilities to readiness
   

Fiscal Year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (FY24 NDAA) Section 842 Pilot Projects

• Congress directed the Secretary of Defense to "establish a contested logistics demonstration and prototyping program to identify, demonstrate, and field capabilities for product support in order to reduce or mitigate the risks associated with operations in a contested logistics environment."
• The program may include best practices for rapid supply support, parts pools, prepositioning, equipment repairs, and flexible approaches to contracting and partnerships.
• The NDAA identified covered nations as Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and other nations
• The Military Services have identified pathway projects to establish new or expand existing MRO capabilities for specific fighter and helicopter end-items and components, watercraft systems, and tactical radios.

Program Office Considerations - with regard to the RSF, Product Support Managers may wish to consider the following (not all-inclusive):

• Engage with your Military Department, lead commands and using commands, and combatant commands to understand requirements for RSF-related capabilities
• Ensure Product Support Business Case Analyses evaluate, where appropriate, regional product support providers for depot maintenance, including considerations related to statutory (e.g., Core and 50/50) and regulatory requirements
• Collaborate with Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) and Service supply chain organizations to establish resilient supply chains
• Use predictive analytics and Condition-Based Maintenance Plus (CBM+) to reduce weapon system unscheduled maintenance
• Establish an Intellectual Property (IP) Strategy and IP Management Plan for Product Support (an annex to the Life Cycle Sustainment Plan) to secure license rights and data needed for regional MRO capabilities and additive manufacture of parts closer to the point of need
• Provide feedback on ongoing MRO projects, identify barriers and participate in barrier reduction/removal activities, and participate in RSF governance activities (where applicable)
• Normalize use of regional MRO in maintenance concepts

RSF Resources - to learn more about the RSF, explore the following video resources and publications:

• Product Support Delta Course Lesson 1, A Workforce Discussion with DoD’s Senior Logistician, featuring HON Christopher J. Lowman, ASD(Sustainment)
• DAU Update Session 4, RSF Discussion with Ms Lisa P. Smith, DASD(Product Support)
• Sustainment Series, Regional Sustainment Framework (RSF): A Discussion with DASD(Product Support)
• Acquisition Insight Days, Day 1, Session 1, RSF update by Ms Lisa P. Smith, DASD(Product Support)
• Sustainment Brief: Regional Sustainment Framework Marks a New Era in Logistics and Collaboration, by HON Lowman
• Product Support Delta Course Lesson 7, Pooling Our Resources
• 2024 RSF publication
• RSF Factsheet and Tri-fold
• RSF Rapid Deployment Training (RLOG 003)

Readers may also wish to consult the July 2024 Media Roundtable Report for recent updates. 

On 2 Aug 24, DASD(PS) published the new Defense MRO Playbook. The playbook documents U.S. and Australian efforts to advance combined regional MRO solutions and provides insights for establishing other regional MRO solutions. The playbook communicates the process, lessons learned, critical thinking, and accomplishments of the F/A-18 Gun Drive Motor case study.

The 11-13 Sep 24 DoD Product Support Manager (PSM) Workshop features RSF as a main topic. Explore this site to register and/or view materials posted after the workshop.