The F-16 Multinational Staged Improvement Program

Book excerpt: The F-16 Multinational Staged Improvement Program (MSIP) is the development program that the F-16 program has used to move beyond the F-16A/B. Its primary product has been the F-16C/D, an aircraft whose design evolves over time as new technological capabilities become available or attractive to incorporate in its design. MSIP is the program that F-16C/D developers have used to introduce these capabilities over time. The prime contractor for the F-16, General Dynamics, and the F-16 System Program Office (SPO) formally initiated the program in 1980. This study examines MSIP, giving special attention to means of assessing and managing the risks associated with system development. It is one of seven case studies conducted by RAND for the Air Force to examine the Air Force's management of risk in development programs during the 1980s.