Decision-Support Technologies for Weapon System Sustainment

ABSTRACT:The overall objective of this effort is to develop technologies that extend sustainment modeling and simulation capabilities to support improved investment decisions throughout the weapon system lifecycle.Specifically, the main objective of this proposed Phase II research effort is to develop the concept for a new simulation capability that enhances, combines and integrates simulation tools to provide an effective capability to model multiple processes and factors.Frontier Technology, Inc. (FTI) proposes to accomplish this in a two-pronged approach:1) develop innovative enhancements to existing simulation capability; and 2) develop an innovative sustainment modeling infrastructure that can serve as the basis for an integrated capability with other sustainment models and tools.In the Phase II effort, FTI will extend the Phase I work that proved the concept of an integrated sustainment simulation capability. FTI will extend the Phase I effort in the areas of LCOM ATK software enhancements, integration software development, and topics for further case studies to develop and document a complete working prototype.As in the Phase I, FTIs focus will be guided by the stakeholders and agreed upon case study. FTI will provide a demonstration of the simulation capability and validate the results with the case study.BENEFIT:This research is applicable to DoD and commercial industries employing complex maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO), and supply chain management (SCM) systems. These organizations must all adapt to the integration and use of simulation technologies to make their processes more efficient than they currently are. The solution that these organizations will seek must address the analysis problems of sustainment that can be adaptable, flexible, and easily integrated into existing models, and management and data systems.This capability must be able to be implemented within the confines of the available budget and to preclude operational impacts that could jeopardize mission readiness, as well as the financial bottom line. A sustainment simulation tool suite that will accurately assess sustainment issues and conditions and enable rapid determination of optimal repair processes across the organization will enable users to operate their repair processes more efficiently compared to current capabilities, as they try to keep their fleets serviceable and safe, while minimizing operational costs.