What the United States Air Force is Doing Right About Systems Engineering

摘要

To address problems in the acquisitions program (e.g., cost overruns, delayed scheduling, engineering design errors, etc.), in 2003 then Secretary of the Air Force, the Honorable James G. Roche and Chief of Staff of the Air Force, General John P. Juniper, went to the U.S. Air Force Academy and asked for help developing a new breed of systems thinkers. The progenitors of the systems engineering major envisioned that a systems thinker would have a foundation in a classical engineering discipline (big E) such as aeronautical, computer, and mechanical engineering. The U.S. Air Force Academy Systems Engineering curriculum is heavily focused on classical engineering disciplines through seven concentration areas. Once the classical engineering foundation is laid, systems engineering (little s) is effectively layered on that basic engineering foundation. Application of systems engineering methods (and tools) culminates in the senior year when all sE cadets participate in a capstone design project For example, SE-Aeronautical Systems (systems engineering students with an aeronautics foundation) cadets take the aircraft design capstone sequence. In this capstone design the cadet design team (sE and Aero engineering cadets) actually designs to customer requirements (e.g., the next generation bomber), builds a small prototype, flies the prototype, and evaluates its performance. In addition, the cadets perform cost modeling, risk tracking, and briefing of actual U.S. Air Force customers on their design. This systems engineering process better mimics the U.S. Air Force's actual acquisition process where systems engineers are integral to the design team. As the U.S. Air Force's next generation of systems thinkers, these graduates will take this education experience into future aircraft design and acquisition projects. For widest reader applicability, the SE-Aero concentration will be described. This paper focuses on the debate surrounding systems engineering education at the undergraduate level, application to aircraft design and development, and anticipated benefits of this educational investment.