MEMORANDUMFORPRINCIPALDEPUTYUNDERSECRETARYOFDEFENSE(ACQUISITION,TECHNOLOGYANDLOGISTICS)
SUBJECT:StateofReliability
IamwritingtounderscoretheimportanceofsystemreliabilityasamajorproblemforDepartmentofDefense(DoD)acquisitions.Poorreliabilityisaproblemwithmajorimplicationsforcost.Inparticular,wehaveanopportunitytochangesystemdevelopmenttosubstantiallyreducefieldedsystemsustainmentcosts.Thefollowingdatademonstratessustainmentcosts-whicharerelateddirectlytoreliability-dominatetotalsystemcosts:
TypeSystemRDT&EProcurementOperations&Sustainment
FixedWingFighters9%30%62%
GroundSystems4%24%73%
RotaryWing6%29%64%
SurfaceShips1%31%68%
SustainmentcostshavefivetotentimesmoreimpactontotallifecyclecoststhandoRDT&Ecosts.Unreliablesystemshavehighersustainmentcostsbecause,quiteplainly,theybreakmorefrequentlythanplanned.Ifweimprovesystemreliabilityindevelopmentitwillreducesustainmentcost.StudiesDOT&Ehassponsoredindicateatleastaseven-foldpaybackforthisup-frontinvestmentinbetterreliability.
Discussionsthathaveoccurredamongourstaffsparticipatinginthere-convenedReliabilityWorkingGroupindicatethatthereissomequestionastowhetherreliabilityisanimportantissue,andtherealsoappeartobequestionsaboutthemeritsofthereliabilitystandardANSI/GEIA-STD-0009.
看来不断采用新技术，又要保证可靠性也不容易啊，不过比国内武器系统可靠性还是要高不少。
RDT&E：产品开发、测试与验证
DOT&E：美国防部作战试验与评估处
