Aging Avionics in Military Aircraft (2001)

3

Current Activities and Programs

During the course of the study, the committee reviewed documents and attended presentations by representatives of government agencies and industry on the key issues associated with aging avionics. Numerous government and industry organizations are addressing these issues from several different perspectives: policy making; process initiatives; open systems development; legacy system upgrades; DMS/OP; development of tools; and the reengineering or remanufacturing of obsolete parts. Policy changes relate to organizational structures, budget processes, laws, and other factors. Some initiatives have been established to address processes for replacing obsolete avionics (or avionics that will soon be obsolete) either through technology refresh of components or boards or through equipment upgrades. Still others are developing tools to track DMS/OP and reengineering methods so that systems can be maintained after the loss of a manufacturing source. Most organizations are searching for technology changes and advances to reduce or avoid DMS/OP, through so-called open systems, through legacy system upgrades that do not require major system replacements (e.g., software wrappers), or through technologies to remanufacture parts. Most of these activities are being done independently with little or no coordination. As an old saying goes, “a thousand flowers are blooming, each in itself a thing of beauty, but there is no plan or design for the garden.”

Table 3-1 summarizes many activities and programs attempting to resolve the DMS/OP problem (see Appendix A for brief descriptions). No doubt, there are numerous other activities of which the committee is unaware. As the table shows, many government organizations have adopted similar approaches or are funding similar projects, some of which are duplicative and/ or overlap. Although there is a good deal of activity in the area of process initiatives, economies of scale are being missed because of the lack of coordination. The successful obsolescence-management program at the air logistics center for the F-15 at Warner Robins Air Force Base, is a case in point. This program, which is recognized as a model program by the Air Force, uses the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Hub (a centralized communications network) and a commercial tool called avionics component obsolescence management (AVCOM) supplied by Manufacturing Technology, Incorporated. The B-2 program, another recognized leader in obsolescence management, uses a different commercial tool supplied by TACTech and does not participate in the AFRL Hub. These two programs are following their own courses (“stovepiping”), which prevents them from sharing information and finding common solutions to common problems.

Another example of stovepiping is the Government-Industry Data Exchange Program (GIDEP), chartered to be DoD's centralized database for managing and