1.34 The provision of DMO support to capability is managed through the DMO agreements framework. The principal agreement for all DMO acquisition projects is the Materiel Acquisition Agreement (MAA). The MAAs define the DMO's acquisition services to be delivered to Defence for all major and minor equipment projects, and specifies the project in terms of the scope and schedule to be delivered, and the approved budget.
1.35 As part of the Mortimer reforms, the MAA framework has been further strengthened by including the relevant Capability Manager as a signatory along with the DMO and Capability Development Group. The intent of this change is to gain the key stakeholder's formal acknowledgement of the baseline requirements against which the DMO's delivery of equipment will be measured. Consequently, the DMO is currently in the process of transitioning from using Initial Operational Capability (IOC) and Final Operational Capability (FOC) to using Initial Materiel Release (IMR) and Final Materiel Release (FMR). IMR and FMR represent the milestones against which the materiel elements of the FIC are delivered.
1.36 The DMO's materiel supplies are just one element of a number of fundamental inputs necessary to realise a capability that can be operationally employed by a Capability Manager. IMR and FMR will mark the DMO milestones for delivery and release to the Capability Managers of materiel supplies to support the Capability Manager's achievement of IOC and FOC. The IOC and FOC are Defence milestones that represent the estimated timeframe for when a capability system, comprising all FICs, will achieve full capability. Consequently, the shift to IMR and FMR will provide greater clarity of responsibilities between the DMO and Capability Managers.
1.37 IMR and FMR milestones have been included in the MAA template for use by all new DMO projects, and all existing DMO major projects will transition to this new MAA template by the end of 2011.
1.38 The terms used to describe key schedule milestones in an MAA are defined as follows:
● Initial Materiel Release (IMR): The milestone that marks the completion and release of DMO acquisition project supplies required to support the achievement of Initial Operational Release.
● Initial Operational Capability (IOC): The point in time at which the first defined subset of a capability system that can be operationally employed is realised. IOC is a capability state endorsed at project approval at Second Pass, and reported as having been achieved by the Capability Manager.
● Initial Operational Release (IOR): The milestone at which the Capability Manager is satisfied that the initial operational and materiel state of the capability system - including any deficiencies in the fundamental inputs to capability - are such that it is sufficiently safe, fit for service, and environmentally compliant to proceed into a period of operational test and evaluation leading to an endorsed capability state.
● In-Service-Date (ISD): The point in time that symbolically marks the beginning of the transition of a capability system, in part or full, from the acquisition phase to the in-service phase. ISD coincides as closely as is practicable with IOR.
● Final Materiel Release (FMR): The milestone that marks the completion and release of DMO acquisition project supplies to support the achievement of FOC.
● Final Operational Capability (FOC): The point in time at which the final subset of a capability system that can be operationally employed is realised. FOC is a capability state endorsed at project approval at Second Pass, and reported as having been achieved by the Capability Manager.