This paper briefly describes systems effectiveness work currently under way at the Army Missile Command. Two basic types of systems effectiveness analyses performed on Army missile systems are described together with their time phasing during the life cycle of the weapon.
The Command conducts major operations research studies at the outset of each major development program and at points where significant changes in system characteristics occur. All system performance parameters are analyzed in the context of a “mix” of weapons in a dynamic battlefield environment. Factors such as mobility, survivability, kill probability, and firepower are considered. Normally, these studies are used to demonstrate the cost effectiveness of proposed systems and to conduct initial parametric design trade-off studies.
The second type is that of mission reliability assessment. This assessment is conducted throughout the development, production, and deployment phases of the system life cycle and is designed to monitor those critical systems parameters (such as reliability, maintainability, and availability) which are subject to wide variations in terms of degree of achievement. The major emphasis in this paper is on describing the concept of mission reliability assessment and in discussing its application as a management tool at the Army Missile Command.