Parts Obsolescence Management Technology Transition (POMTT)

摘要

Obsolescence impacts everything, especially in the Defense industry. The reduction of sources and availability affects component parts, assemblies, software, and even complete systems. Changes in the commercial and military marketplace have also resulted in military-grade parts becoming less available. These obsolete high-reliability components are now too expensive to reproduce, and often less reliable than new commercial parts that perform the same function. As a result, manufacturers of high reliability weapon systems must now use commercial parts for their military applications. The Air Force established the Electronic Parts Obsolescence Initiative (EPOI) in 1998 to help address these problems, and specifically support the mitigation of obsolescence. Tools, technologies, and methodologies were established and funded; and follow-on pilot demonstration programs were also established to evaluate the performance and commercial viability of these tools.