Cost and Benefits of Reliability in Military Equipment

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Cost and Benefits of Reliability in Military Equipment

A. J. Alexander

This report investigates the costs of achieving greater reliability in military equipment, the benefits of improved reliability in reduced support costs and increased availability, and strategies for attaining reliability goals. Three kinds of evidence were examined: reliability improvement programs, new product developments, and statistical analyses of reliability costs and outcomes in new programs. Literature reviews of both military and commercial experience, and interviews with reliability experts and managers in government and industry, provided additional information to supplement detailed case studies. Performed were detailed case studies of seven systems: F-18 aircraft, CH-47D helicopter modernization, F100 turbine engine, Phalanx Mk15 Close-in Weapon System, LAMPS MKIII helicopter antisubmarine warfare system, Minuteman I inertial navigation system, and the Carousel inertial guidance system, Minuteman I inertial navigation system, and the Carousel inertial guidance system. Information produced in other studies was reanalyzed in the context of the present research; these included F-16 aircraft reliability improvements, spacecraft reliability costs, Duane models of reliability growth, and a study of 19 Navy systems. These cases covered several different technologies and were drawn from all three military services. (KR)