An Analysis of the Acquisition of Specific Items of Support Equipment for the F100 Engine

摘要

with the acquisition of highly sophisticated weapon systems, complex Support Equipment is making a significant impact on the operational readiness and availability of major end items. This study was to analyze the acquisition and provisioning process of two specific pieces of Support Equipment associated with the Pratt and Whitney Aircraft F100 engine: the Supervisory Control System (SCS) Tester and Engine Trim Box (ETB). In addition, the Programmable Automated Trim Test System (PATTS) proposed by P&WA as a new generation item of Support Equipment was examined. The objective of this research was to evaluate the acquisition and provisioning process of two existing items of Support Equipment and compare it to an item being considered for procurement at the present time. This was done to determine if the lessons learned from the SCS Tester and ETB were being applied to PATTS. In the authors' opinions, the problems encountered with the SCS Tester and ETB were mainly due to inadequate requirements determination, improper source coding, and insufficient application of the Integrated Logistics Support concept. PATTS, though immune to many of these problems, received greater planning and coordination emphasis through the efforts and foresight of a few key individuals. (Author)