Report on Sustaining Air Force Aging Aircraft Into the 21st Century

Report on Sustaining Air Force Aging Aircraft Into the 21st Century
Author: United States. USAF Scientific Advisory Board
Publisher:
Total Pages: 211
Release: 2011
Genre: Air forces
ISBN:

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"As many of its fleets of legacy aircraft types are kept in service well beyond their planned services lives (sometimes in age, sometimes in usage, sometimes both), the United States Air Force (USAF) faces numerous engineering and resource challenges for the continued, cost effective sustainment of those aging systems. This report details the recommendations made by the USAF Scientific Advisory Board's Sustaining Aging Aircraft (SAA) Study to best position the Air Force to meet those challenges. The SAA Study Panel visited a cross section of military and commercial aircraft maintenance organizations to assess sustainment practices and identify technologies that can extend system life and ease maintenance costs. The Study identified specific aircraft systems, in addition to structures and engines, that contribute to safety, availability, and effectiveness for aging aircraft; examined commercial practices in airlines, air freight services, and other industries, and evaluated how they might be applied to meet USAF needs; and identified technology needs and technology approaches that can be applied or developed to extend life or ease maintenance of these aircraft systems, while facilitating future adaptations and performance enhancements of the aircraft."--p. 211.

Aging of U.S. Air Force Aircraft

Aging of U.S. Air Force Aircraft
Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 125
Release: 1997-10-30
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 0309059356

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Many of the aircraft that form the backbone of the U.S. Air Force operational fleet are 25 years old or older. A few of these will be replaced with new aircraft, but many are expected to remain in service an additional 25 years or more. This book provides a strategy to address the technical needs and priorities associated with the Air Force's aging airframe structures. It includes a detailed summary of the structural status of the aging force, identification of key technical issues, recommendations for near-term engineering and management actions, and prioritized near-term and long-term research recommendations.

Challenges and Issues with the Further Aging of U.S. Air Force Aircraft

Challenges and Issues with the Further Aging of U.S. Air Force Aircraft
Author: J. R. Gebman
Publisher: Rand Corporation
Total Pages: 81
Release: 2009
Genre: History
ISBN: 0833045180

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Over the next 20 years, the further aging of already-old aircraft will introduce challenges and issues for aircraft operators. The technical challenges relate to structures, propulsion, and systems. The institutional challenges include limitations on independent verification of fleet status and future condition and on information needed for engineering analyses including risk assessment, and an overall scarcity of resources.

Zero-Sustainment Aircraft for the U.S. Air Force

Zero-Sustainment Aircraft for the U.S. Air Force
Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 57
Release: 2013-03-12
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 0309272653

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Overall Air Force weapon system sustainment (WSS) costs are growing at more than 4 percent per year, while budgets have remained essentially flat. The cost growth is due partly to aging of the aircraft fleet, and partly to the cost of supporting higher-performance aircraft and new capabilities provided by more complex and sophisticated systems, such as the latest intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) platforms. Furthermore, the expectation for the foreseeable future is that sustainment budgets are likely to decrease, so that the gap between budgets and sustainment needs will likely continue to grow wider. Most observers accept that the Air Force will have to adopt new approaches to WSS if it is going to address this problem and remain capable of carrying out its missions. In this context, the original intent of this 3-day workshop was to focus on ways that science and technology (S&T) could help the Air Force reduce sustainment costs. However, as the workshop evolved, the discussions focused more and more on Air Force leadership, management authority, and culture as the more critical factors that need to change in order to solve sustainment problems. Many participants felt that while S&T investments could certainly help-particularly if applied in the early stages ("to the left") of the product life cycle-adopting a transformational management approach that defines the user-driven goals of the enterprise, empowers people to achieve them, and holds them accountable, down to the shop level. Several workshop participants urged Air Force leaders to start the process now, even though it will take years to percolate down through the entire organization. These sustainment concerns are not new and have been studied extensively, including recent reports from the National Research Council's Air Force Studies Board and the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board.

Materials and Manufacturing Capabilities for Sustaining Defense Systems

Materials and Manufacturing Capabilities for Sustaining Defense Systems
Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 87
Release: 2013-03-29
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 0309267609

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The Standing Committee on Defense Materials Manufacturing and Infrastructure (DMMI) conducted a workshop on July 23-24, 2012, to share information and gather perspectives on issues concerning Materials and Manufacturing Capabilities for Sustaining Defense Systems. This workshop, held at the headquarters building of the National Academies, 2101 Constitution Avenue N.W., Washington D.C., was conducted according to the procedures of the National Research Council (NRC) for a convening activity. That is, all workshop participants-including presenters, members of the DMMI standing committee, Reliance 21, invited guests, and visitors-spoke as individuals, and no overall findings, conclusions, or recommendations were developed during or as a result of the workshop. All statements and views summarized in this publication are attributable only to those individuals who expressed them. It is worth noting that the sponsor, Reliance 21, is a Department of Defense group of professionals that was established to enable the DOD science and technology (S&T) community to work together to enhance Defense S&T programs, eliminate unwarranted duplication, and strengthen cooperation among the military services and other DOD agencies. The DMMI standing committee named a workshop planning group to develop the workshop agenda and decide on invited guests and presenters, in accordance with the statement of task approved by the Governing Board of the NRC. The planning group also consulted with the Reliance 21 materials and processing community of interest. The presentations and discussions during the workshop are summarized sequentially in the main part of this report. As an aid to readers, nine themes have been identified by the author that recurred in multiple presentations and discussions. Materials and Manufacturing Capabilities for Sustaining Defense Systems: Summary of a Workshop explains these nine themes and summarizes the two day workshop.

U.S. Military Forces in FY 2021

U.S. Military Forces in FY 2021
Author: Mark F. Cancian
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 129
Release: 2021-09-14
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1538140365

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CSIS senior adviser Mark Cancian annually produces a series of white papers on U.S. military forces, including their composition, new initiatives, long-term trends, and challenges. This report is a compilation of these papers and takes a deep look at each of the military services, the new Space Force, special operations forces, DOD civilians, and contractors in the FY 2021 budget. This report further includes a foreword regarding how the Biden administration might approach decisions facing the military forces, drawing on insights from the individual chapters.

Zero-Sustainment Aircraft for the U.S. Air Force

Zero-Sustainment Aircraft for the U.S. Air Force
Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 57
Release: 2013-04-12
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 0309272610

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Overall Air Force weapon system sustainment (WSS) costs are growing at more than 4 percent per year, while budgets have remained essentially flat. The cost growth is due partly to aging of the aircraft fleet, and partly to the cost of supporting higher-performance aircraft and new capabilities provided by more complex and sophisticated systems, such as the latest intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) platforms. Furthermore, the expectation for the foreseeable future is that sustainment budgets are likely to decrease, so that the gap between budgets and sustainment needs will likely continue to grow wider. Most observers accept that the Air Force will have to adopt new approaches to WSS if it is going to address this problem and remain capable of carrying out its missions. In this context, the original intent of this 3-day workshop was to focus on ways that science and technology (S&T) could help the Air Force reduce sustainment costs. However, as the workshop evolved, the discussions focused more and more on Air Force leadership, management authority, and culture as the more critical factors that need to change in order to solve sustainment problems. Many participants felt that while S&T investments could certainly help-particularly if applied in the early stages ("to the left") of the product life cycle-adopting a transformational management approach that defines the user-driven goals of the enterprise, empowers people to achieve them, and holds them accountable, down to the shop level. Several workshop participants urged Air Force leaders to start the process now, even though it will take years to percolate down through the entire organization. These sustainment concerns are not new and have been studied extensively, including recent reports from the National Research Council's Air Force Studies Board and the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board.

Red Is Good: Transformational Changes for US Air Force Aircraft Maintenance

Red Is Good: Transformational Changes for US Air Force Aircraft Maintenance
Author: Colonel Usaf Paul J McAneny
Publisher: CreateSpace
Total Pages: 46
Release: 2012-09-22
Genre:
ISBN: 9781479369812

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Over the last two decades, the Air Force's fleet of aircraft has shrunk 40 percent, while the average inventory age has increased from eight years in 1973 to a projected 26.5 years by 2012. Concurrently, this smaller, older fleet has been tasked with 2.3 million flight hours per year since the end of Operation Desert Storm. In an environment of flat bud-gets, limited manpower, and an aging, shrinking fleet, the Air Force seeks cultural transformations to remain the world's premier air, space, and cyberspace force. The trans-formation initiative Air Force Smart Operations for the 21st Century (AFSO21) was designed to increase productivity, responsiveness, and efficiency, thus improving equipment readiness, reliability, and availability. Given the mixed results of past transformation efforts, has AFSO21 achieved the desired effects? Col Paul "P. J." McAneny offers an analysis focused on aircraft maintenance but applicable to the entire force and recommends cultural changes to support lasting transformation. He ex-amines the impact of metrics on transformation and evaluates the USAF aircraft maintenance culture. He asks several questions: Can focused metrics precede cultural change? Does the aircraft maintenance community support a Red Is Good culture, in which metrics are used to illuminate problems rather than measure success or failure? If so, is the community a true learning organization that can maximize its impact through continuous process-improvement initiatives? The answers lead Colonel McAneny to recommend several Air Force-level changes to meet long-term aircraft readiness and reliability targets.

Aging of U.S. Air Force Aircraft

Aging of U.S. Air Force Aircraft
Author:
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 1997
Genre:
ISBN:

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The U.S. Air Force requested the National Research Council to identify research and development (R & D) needs and opportunities to support the continued operation of their aging aircraft. Specifically, this study focuses on aging aircraft structures and materials and has the major objectives of 1. developing an overall strategy that addresses the Air Force aging aircraft needs 2. recommending and prioritizing specific technology opportunities in the areas of fatigue, corrosion fatigue, and stress corrosion cracking corrosion, prevention and mitigation, nondestructive inspection maintenance and repair, failure analysis and life prediction methodologies. The approach that the committee took to accomplish this study was to conduct working sessions to identify current aging aircraft problems and technology needs; review ongoing and planned aging aircraft R & D efforts by the Air Force; and review related research at other government agencies, within industry and in the academic research community.