The U.S. Defense Department is studying whether the B-2 bomber, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and four other weapon system programs should pursue a relatively new, more flexible approach to logistics aimed at increasing equipment reliability.

Under Management Initiative Decision (MID) 917, an eight-page document that Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz approved Oct. 18, the six programs have 180 days to study whether a performance-based logistics (PBL) strategy would make sense for their respective systems. Programs that make a convincing case for PBL will test the logistics approach through a pilot project.

In addition to the Air Force B-2 and multiservice JSF, the programs being eyed for the pilot are the Navy's ALQ-99 Tactical Radar Jamming System Pod, the Marine Corps' Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle, the Army's Sentinel Radar System and the Army's Tube-Launched, Optically-Tracked, Wire-Guided Improved Target Acquisition System.

If successful, the pilot project eventually could be expanded to include other systems, the MID says.

PBL, which received backing in the 2001 Quadrennial Defense Review report, is designed to improve weapon system readiness by giving contractors more leeway in how they support equipment. The strategy calls for focusing on "buying performance levels" instead of the traditional means of buying specific products, such as individual spare parts and technical data, a Pentagon spokeswoman said.

Operational availability, mission capable rate and customer wait time are examples of how performance is measured under the PBL approach.

The MID says that early attempts to pursue PBL have run into "a number of financial and contractual challenges." For instance, a PBL contract exists for the Navy's F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, but multiple budget items for maintenance, parts and technical services have hindered the arrangement.

"Each line item is funded by specific appropriations, with limited flexibility across the contract," the MID says. "In essence, the department is buying a collection of elements on a single contract, but it is not buying output."

The new pilot project will aim to overcome such flaws by testing revised processes for budgeting, contracting and programming.