Affordability Development and Integration into Simulation-Based Research and Development (R&D)

"Predictions of simulation-based R&D offer the great advantage of making critical decisions early on in the development of new technologies. In order for weapon systems to reach the field and become operationally effective, these decisions must also bebased on credible cost simulations, and LifeCycle Cost (LCC) predictions well into the future. Essentially this means that a program has, besides mission and performance goals, also cost objectives and margins. Present tools are not designed to treat costas a goal but rather as a result. In order to address these goals effectively, we propose to design a cost simulation tool that will be enhanced by the following innovative capabilities: by means of an advanced equation solver CISR will be able torepresent complex, non-linear cost algorithms, perform parametric, sensitivity, cost-driver and uncertainty analyses, and Implement Cost As an Independent Variable (CAIV). CISR will also Interface with present and future AFRL/VACD simulation tools. Such atool will enable users to ask and answer "what if?" questions and perform various trade-off comparisons. The technology that will be developed under this research is useful to any organization performing large scale, technically complex, developmentactivities under cost constraints or that has to make trade off decisions between capital and operating & maintenance budgets. The CISR tool will be applicable to, and effective for any such organizat