A study of Airborne Electronic Equipment Guarantees concentrated in five (5) complementary areas: 1) Evaluation of Current Guarantee Practices, 2) Guarantee Plan Application considerations, 3) Development of Guarantee Plan Procurement Packages, 4) Guarantee Plan Cost Models and Related Procedures, and 5) Guarantee Plan Implementation Requirements.
Study results indicated that sealed, Air Force depot/supplier repairable, high dollar value, low MTBF units were most amenable to Air Force avionic guarantee applications. Of the three types of guarantee plans analyzed, the full life approach was considered currently feasible for the Air Force to implement. The most difficult implementation area was considered to involve the maximum failure rate guarantee plan where operating time, as well as failure responsibility, become important criteria. The failure free guarantee, although currently feasible to implement, was not considered cost effective for avionic equipments. Conversely, both the full life and maximum failure rate approaches appeared cost effective in terms of potential savings to the Air Force. Specific savings or losses are dependent on actual MTBF's, repair times, repair costs, and bid variables.