Integrated FRACAS systems for F117 infrared acquisition designation system (IRADS) support yield higher MTBMA

This paper discusses how various independent databases have been integrated to improve the infrared acquisition designation system (IRADS) and facilitate higher reliability. The microsoft access databases contain all of the failure and maintenance data related to the IRADS system. Mean time between maintenance action (MTBMA) includes failures, could not duplicate (CND), and maintenance induced actions while mean time between failure (MTBF) only accounts for hard failures on the system. The databases are a vital tool in solving engineering problems and identifying trends for future improvements to the IRADS system.