Keeping pace with technological advances when funding resources are diminished [military systems]

Many of the major systems in the military inventory have reached, or are scheduled to surpass, their initial design life cycle date. However, the current world political climate has increased the demand on military capability and decreased the available monetary resources. The development of military systems has taken a new turn to face a new threat. Major weapons systems improvements have been either postponed or canceled entirely. This delay coupled with the normal development cycle for new systems increases the prospect of delivery of technological solutions well past when they are needed. This new environment requires a different solution to maintaining existing military systems. Applying the concept of 'modernization through sustainment/spl trade/', new life can be breathed into these older systems at a fraction of the cost and development time. By modernizing individual components in a system over time, not only is the system provided continuous form, fit and function sustainment support, but technological advances are incorporated in a timely manner. Through the act of using replacement parts that are technologically more robust, systems can be sustained with a significant capability increase, all at the same cost. Funding problems can be reduced as funding needs to be provided for individual subsystems rather than for an entirely new system. This paper describes three examples where the use of 'modernization through sustainment/spl trade/' concepts have not only extended the life of current systems well beyond their life cycle, but also introduced current technology and capability into the systems at a fraction of the time and cost of developing a completely new system.