Civil Military Integration: Pumping New Life into Aging Gear

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Civil Military Integration: Pumping New Life into Aging Gear

V. H. Diego-Allard

As the nation's military weaponry and other equipment grow increasingly older, the armed forces are struggling to find better ways to keep those systems running as long as possible. U.S. combat forces include platforms that are more than 30 years old and programmed to remain in active service as much as 40 additional years. Civil military integration or CMI, may be key to realizing current equipment readiness strategies including legacy platforms. To realize the full benefits of CMI, advocates that recommend the Department of Defense (DoD) develop system platform strategies, which could result in ameliorating systems obsolescence, while reducing recapitalization costs thereby producing substantial costs savings. But CMI may not be the panacea the (DoD) requires to reduce costs of legacy platforms. Critics of CMI respond that there is little dual-use overlap between commercial and military products and processes in most crucial technology areas, so that integration of the defense and commercial industrial bases is simply not possible. The objective of this research paper is to explore the use of civil military integration (CMI) as an alternative solution to defense legacy systems and materiel obsolescence, as documented in military aircraft and aircraft avionics.