National Academies Press: OpenBook

Aging Avionics in Military Aircraft (2001)

Chapter: Front Matter

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2001. Aging Avionics in Military Aircraft. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10108.
×

Page i

Aging Avionics in Military Aircraft

Committee on Aging Avionics in Military Aircraft

Air Force Science and Technology Board

Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences

National Research Council

NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS
Washington, D.C.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2001. Aging Avionics in Military Aircraft. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10108.
×

Page ii

    NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS 2101 Constitution Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20418

    NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.

    This is a report of work supported by Contract Number F49620-00-1-0174 between the United States Air Force and the National Academy of Sciences. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the organizations or agencies that provided support for the project.

    International Standard Book Number 0-309-07449-5

    Limited copies are available from:

    Air Force Science and Technology Board

    National Research Council

    2101 Constitution Avenue, N.W.

    Washington, D.C. 20418

    (202) 334-3118

    Additional copies are available from:

    National Academy Press Box 285 2101 Constitution Ave., N.W. Washington, D.C. 20055 (800) 624-6242 (202) 334-3313 (in the Washington metropolitan area) http://www.nas.edu

    Copyright 2001 by the National Academy of Sciences . All rights reserved.

    Printed in the United States of America

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2001. Aging Avionics in Military Aircraft. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10108.
×

Page iii

    THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES

    National Academy of Sciences

    National Academy of Engineering

    Institute of Medicine

    National Research Council

    The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts is president of the National Academy of Sciences.

    The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. William A. Wulf is president of the National Academy of Engineering.

    The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Kenneth I. Shine is president of the Institute of Medicine.

    The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy's purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts and Dr. William A. Wulf are chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of the National Research Council.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2001. Aging Avionics in Military Aircraft. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10108.
×

Page iv

    COMMITTEE ON AGING AVIONICS IN MILITARY AIRCRAFT

    ROBERT L. CATTOI, chair, consultant, Dallas, Texas

    NOEL LONGUEMARE, vice chair, Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Technology (retired), Ellicott City, Maryland

    HENRY P. ARNOLD, BF Goodrich Aerospace, Vergennes, Vermont

    WILLIAM C. BOWES, Litton Industries, Woodland Hills, California

    STEPHEN N. BUSS, Northrop Grumman Corporation, Linthicum, Maryland

    JOHN D. COSGROVE, Rockwell Collins (retired), Cedar Rapids, Iowa

    FREDERICK H. DILL, IBM T.J. Watson Research Center, Yorktown Heights, New York

    LLEWELLYN S. DOUGHERTY, Raytheon Systems Company, El Segundo, California

    VALERIE J. GAWRON, Veridian Engineering Flight Research Group, Buffalo, New York

    DAVID R. HEEBNER, Heebner Associates, McLean, Virginia

    ELLIS F. HITT, Battelle, Columbus, Ohio

    ANDREW J. KORNECKI, Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach, Florida

    ROCKY J. PORZIO, Lockheed Martin Federal Systems, Owego, New York

    GEORGE W. SUTTON, ANSER, Arlington, Virginia

    WILLIAM G.T. TUTTLE, JR., Logistics Management Institute, McLean, Virginia

    RAYFORD B. VAUGHN, JR., Mississippi State University, Mississippi

    BRIAN T. WRIGHT, Rockwell Collins, Cedar Rapids, Iowa

    Liaisons from the Air Force Science and Technology Board

    ROBERT A. FUHRMAN, Lockheed Corporation (retired), Pebble Beach, California

    ALTON D. ROMIG, Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico

    Liaisons from the Boardon Army Science and Technology

    PATRICK F. FLYNN, Cummins Engine Company, Inc. (retired), Columbus, Indiana

    GEORGE T. SINGLEY III, Hicks and Associates, Inc., McLean, Virginia

    Staff

    BRUCE A. BRAUN, Director

    JAMES E. KILLIAN, Study Director

    GREG EYRING, Consultant

    PAMELA A. LEWIS, Senior Project Assistant

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2001. Aging Avionics in Military Aircraft. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10108.
×

Page v

    AIR FORCE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY BOARD

    ROBERT A. FUHRMAN, chair, Lockheed Corporation (retired), Pebble Beach, California

    ANTHONY J. BURSHNICK, U.S. Air Force (retired), Springfield, Virginia

    LYNN CONWAY, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

    WILLIAM H. CRABTREE, consultant, Cincinnati, Ohio

    EARL H. DOWELL, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina

    ALAN H. EPSTEIN, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge

    ALFRED B. GSCHWENDTNER, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge

    ROBERT G. LOEWY, Georgia Institute of Technology School of Aerospace Engineering, Atlanta

    JOHN MICHAEL LOH, U.S. Air Force (retired), Williamsburg, Virginia

    NOEL LONGUEMARE, Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Technology (retired), Ellicott City, Maryland

    THOMAS S. MOORMAN, JR., U.S. Air Force (retired), McLean, Virginia

    BRADFORD W. PARKINSON, Stanford University, Stanford, California

    RICHARD R. PAUL, Boeing Company, Seattle, Washington

    ELI RESHOTKO, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio

    ALTON D. ROMIG, Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico

    Staff

    BRUCE A. BRAUN, Director

    MICHAEL A. CLARKE, Associate Director

    CHRIS JONES, Financial Associate

    WILLIAM E. CAMPBELL, Administrative Coordinator

    DEANNA SPARGER, Senior Project Assistant

    REBECCA LUCCHESE, Senior Project Assistant

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2001. Aging Avionics in Military Aircraft. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10108.
×

Page vi

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2001. Aging Avionics in Military Aircraft. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10108.
×

Page vii

Preface

Questions about the readiness of U.S. military forces to go into battle have received widespread attention in recent years, and the issue was hotly debated in the 2000 U.S. presidential campaign. Partly as a result of a slowdown in purchasing of new materiel in the 1990s, many weapon systems are showing their age, and their lifetimes are being extended beyond their original design lifetimes. This has led to increased maintenance costs and reduced mission-capable rates. The problem is especially severe with electronics systems, such as aircraft avionics, which increasingly depend on commercially available components that have a technology-refresh cycle as short as 18 months and an availability cycle of less than a decade.

This study was requested by the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition to address three areas:

  • Provide a “heading check” on what the Air Force is doing to address the aging avionics problem.

  • Provide suggestions for additional actions.

  • Comment on the division of responsibility between government and industry for maintaining avionics systems.

In the course of its deliberations, the Committee on Aging Avionics in Military Aircraft received many briefings on the aging avionics issue from the perspective of the Air Force, Navy, Army, Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD), and contractors. The committee also sought out the views of commanders of three Air Force Major Commands, as well as senior executives in the Air Force Secretariat. The committee found that more than 25 different organizations in the military services, OSD, and industry are already working on various aspects of the aging avionics problem. One of the contributions of this study will be to raise the awareness of concerned decision makers of related work being done in various other organizations and to facilitate meaningful coordination among them.

The committee greatly appreciates the support and assistance of National Research Council staff members James Killian, Pamela Lewis, and Carol Arenberg and consultant Greg Eyring in the production of this report.

Robert L. Cattoi, chair

Noel Longuemare, vice chair

Committee on Aging Avionics in Military Aircraft

Page viii Cite
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2001. Aging Avionics in Military Aircraft. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10108.
×

Page viii

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2001. Aging Avionics in Military Aircraft. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10108.
×

Page ix

Acknowledgments

This report has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the NRC's Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the institution in making its published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process. We wish to thank the following individuals for their review of this report:

Gen. George Babbitt, U.S. Air Force (retired)

Dr. John M. Borky, Tamarac Technologies, LLC

Lt. Gen. Gordon E. Fornell, U.S. Air Force (retired)

Dr. Nancy G. Leveson (NAE), Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Mr. Robert N. Lutter, The Boeing Company

Mr. David W. Mineck, Kaiser Aerospace and Electronics Corporation

Dr. Eberhardt Rechtin (NAE), University of Southern California (retired)

Although the reviewers listed above have provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations nor did they see the final draft of the report before its release. The review of this report was overseen by Raymond S. Colladay, appointed by the Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences, who was responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content of this report rests entirely with the authoring committee and the National Research Council.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2001. Aging Avionics in Military Aircraft. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10108.
×

Page x

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2001. Aging Avionics in Military Aircraft. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10108.
×

Page xi

Contents

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1
1     INTRODUCTION 7
    Statement of Task, 9
    Forms of Obsolescence, 10
        Obsolescence of Hardware and Software, 10
        Inadequate Performance of Hardware/Software Systems, 11
    Future Management of Obsolescence, 12
    Report Structure, 13
2     MAGNITUDE OF THE PROBLEM 14
    Diminishing Manufacturing Sources/Out-of-Production Parts, 14
    Rising Support Costs, 15
    Budget for Modernizing Avionics, 16
    Declining Readiness, 20
3     CURRENT ACTIVITIES AND PROGRAMS 21
4     ANALYSIS OF THE CURRENT SITUATION 25
    Government Enterprise-Management Processes, 25
        Fragmented Responsibilities, 25
        Education and Retention of Qualified Personnel, 27
        Training, 28
    Budgetary Issues, 28
        Long Acquisition and Upgrade Cycles, 29
        Colors of Money, 30
        Front-End Funding, 30
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2001. Aging Avionics in Military Aircraft. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10108.
×

Page xii

    Technical Issues, 31
        Common Understanding of MOSA, 32
        MOSA Design Tools, 33
        Database for the Reuse of Designs, 34
        Configuration Management, 34
        Streamlining Requalification/Recertification Testing, 34
    Business Issues, 35
        Concerns of Avionics Suppliers, 35
        Intellectual Property, 36
        Responsibility for Sustainment, 37
    Looking Ahead, 38
5     FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 39
    General Findings, 39
    Specific Findings in Key Issue Areas, 40
        Government Management Issues, 40
        Budgetary Issues, 40
        Technical Issues, 41
        Business Issues, 41
    Recommendations, 42
        Recommendations Specific to the Air Force, 42
        Recommendations That Apply to All of the Services, 43
REFERENCES 46
APPENDIXES 47
A     Current Activities and Programs, 47
B     Biographical Sketches of Committee Members, 56
C     Meetings and Activities, 60
Page xiii Cite
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2001. Aging Avionics in Military Aircraft. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10108.
×

Page xiii

Tables and Figures

TABLES

2-1     Accelerating Obsolescence of Military/Aerospace Devices, 15
2-2     Aircraft Currently in Service, 19
3-1     Current DMS/OP Activities, 22

FIGURES

1-1     Average age of U.S. Air Force aircraft, 8
1-2     Decline in the military market share for integrated circuits, 9
1-3     Historic trends in avionics processing, 12
2-1     Cost of avionics in depot-level aircraft maintenance for FY99, 15
2-2     Projected depot-level avionics operations and maintenance costs, 16
2-3     FY01 President's Budget Request for avionics modernization, 17
2-4     Out-year costs after FY05 for avionics modernization (approximately $5 billion), 17
2-5     Declining Air Force mission-capable rate, 18
4-1     Life-cycle mismatch, 29
4-2     JSF architectural hierarchy, 31
4-3     Architectural framework adopted by the Open System Joint Task Force, 32
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2001. Aging Avionics in Military Aircraft. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10108.
×

Page xiv

Acronyms

ACAT acquisition category

AFMC Air Force Materiel Command

AFRL Air Force Research Laboratory

AVCOM avionics component obsolescence management

COTS commercial off-the-shelf

DMS diminishing manufacturing sources

DMS/OP diminishing manufacturing sources/ out-of-production parts

DoD U.S. Department of Defense

FAA Federal Aviation Administration

FY fiscal year

GATM global air traffic management

GIDEP Government Industry Data Exchange Program

GIG Global Information Grid

IPT integrated product team

IWSM integrated weapon-system management

JIAWG Joint Integrated Avionics Working Group

JSF Joint Strike Fighter

JTA Joint Technical Architecture

MDAP major defense acquisition program

Mil Spec Military Specification

MOSA modular open-system approach

OASD (C3I) Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Command, Control, Communications, and Intelligence)

O&M operations and maintenance

OSD Office of the Secretary of Defense

PBR President's Budget Request

QAPR Quarterly Acquisition Program Review

R&D research and development

RDT&E research, development, test, and evaluation

RVSM reduced vertical-separation minimum

SAF/AQ Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition

SEI Software Engineering Institute

SPO system program office

TACTech Transition Analysis of Component Technology

TCAS traffic collision-avoidance system

TOC total ownership cost

USD Under Secretary of Defense

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2001. Aging Avionics in Military Aircraft. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10108.
×
Page R1
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2001. Aging Avionics in Military Aircraft. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10108.
×
Page R2
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2001. Aging Avionics in Military Aircraft. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10108.
×
Page R3
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2001. Aging Avionics in Military Aircraft. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10108.
×
Page R4
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2001. Aging Avionics in Military Aircraft. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10108.
×
Page R5
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2001. Aging Avionics in Military Aircraft. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10108.
×
Page R6
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2001. Aging Avionics in Military Aircraft. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10108.
×
Page R7
Page viii Cite
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2001. Aging Avionics in Military Aircraft. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10108.
×
Page R8
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2001. Aging Avionics in Military Aircraft. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10108.
×
Page R9
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2001. Aging Avionics in Military Aircraft. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10108.
×
Page R10
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2001. Aging Avionics in Military Aircraft. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10108.
×
Page R11
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2001. Aging Avionics in Military Aircraft. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10108.
×
Page R12
Page xiii Cite
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2001. Aging Avionics in Military Aircraft. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10108.
×
Page R13
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2001. Aging Avionics in Military Aircraft. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10108.
×
Page R14
Next: Executive Summary »
Aging Avionics in Military Aircraft Get This Book
×
Buy Paperback | $47.00 Buy Ebook | $37.99
MyNAP members save 10% online.
Login or Register to save!
Download Free PDF

Extending the life of an airframe has proven challenging and costly. Extending the life of an avionics system, however, is one of the most critical and difficult aspects of extending total aircraft system lifetimes. Critical components go out of production or become obsolete, and many former suppliers of military-grade components have gone out of business. From 1986 to 1996, for example, the percentage of discontinued military/aerospace electronic devices nearly doubled—from 7.5 percent to 13.5 percent. In addition, legacy avionics systems, which were designed to meet requirements of the past, generally lack the full capability to perform new missions, meet new threats, or perform well in the new information-intensive battlefield environments.

As the legacy aircraft fleet ages, avionics systems will become more and more difficult to support and maintain. Whereas the military once provided a large and profitable market for the electronics industry, the military electronics market today constitutes less than 1 percent of the commercial market. As a result, the military must increasingly rely on commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) technologies for its avionics hardware and software. Although COTS items are generally less expensive than comparable items designed especially to meet military specifications, the technology-refresh cycle for COTS is typically 18 months or less, which exacerbates the obsolescence problem for aircraft whose lifetimes are measured in decades. The short refresh cycle is driven mostly by the tremendous advances in computer systems, which comprise an increasing percentage of avionics content.

In response to a request by the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, the National Research Council convened the Committee on Aging Avionics in Military Aircraft, under the auspices of the Air Force Science and Technology Board, to conduct this study. This report summarizes the following:

  • Gather information from DoD, other government agencies, and industrial sources on the status of, and issues surrounding, the aging avionics problem. This should include briefings from and discussions with senior industry executives and military acquisition and support personnel. A part of this activity should include a review of Air Force Materiel Command's study on diminishing manufacturing sources to recommend ways to mitigate avionics obsolescence.
  • Provide recommendations for new approaches and innovative techniques to improve management of aging avionics, with the goal of helping the Air Force to enhance supportability and replacement of aging and obsolescing avionics and minimize associated life cycle costs. Comment on the division of technology responsibility between DoD and industry.
  1. ×

    Welcome to OpenBook!

    You're looking at OpenBook, NAP.edu's online reading room since 1999. Based on feedback from you, our users, we've made some improvements that make it easier than ever to read thousands of publications on our website.

    Do you want to take a quick tour of the OpenBook's features?

    No Thanks Take a Tour »
  2. ×

    Show this book's table of contents, where you can jump to any chapter by name.

    « Back Next »
  3. ×

    ...or use these buttons to go back to the previous chapter or skip to the next one.

    « Back Next »
  4. ×

    Jump up to the previous page or down to the next one. Also, you can type in a page number and press Enter to go directly to that page in the book.

    « Back Next »
  5. ×

    Switch between the Original Pages, where you can read the report as it appeared in print, and Text Pages for the web version, where you can highlight and search the text.

    « Back Next »
  6. ×

    To search the entire text of this book, type in your search term here and press Enter.

    « Back Next »
  7. ×

    Share a link to this book page on your preferred social network or via email.

    « Back Next »
  8. ×

    View our suggested citation for this chapter.

    « Back Next »
  9. ×

    Ready to take your reading offline? Click here to buy this book in print or download it as a free PDF, if available.

    « Back Next »
Stay Connected!