Integrated circuit obsolescence and its impact on technology insertion definition for military avionics systems

The operational life of military electronics is typically in excess of twenty years, which encompasses several generations of integrated circuit (IC) technology. Therefore, it is inevitable that military systems will experience some degree of IC obsolescence during their lifetime. This obsolescence may be manifested in the form of individual ICs or as components within hybrid microcircuits. Potential methods for dealing with obsolescence include circuit by circuit form, fit, and function replacement, board level replacement, and system level approaches. The best approach for dealing with IC obsolescence depends on the system and must be determined on a case-by-case basis. It is vitally important to recognize that while IC obsolescence may be the immediate driving concern. It is only one aspect of the total system technology insertion question, which must be answered at the system level. The Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI), sponsored by the Warner Robins Air Logistics Center (WR-ALC), has developed an approach for efficiently postulating and evaluating methods for addressing IC obsolescence and thereby extending the life of radars and other avionics systems. The GTRI approach identifies specific assemblies for potential replacement and evaluates the system level impact, including performance, reliability and life-cycle cost of each action. The initial impetus for this research was the increasing obsolescence of ICs contained in the AN/APG-63 system; the approach has recently been applied to the AN/ALQ-135 Internal Countermeasures Set of the F-15 aircraft. This paper will discuss this methodology and the techniques developed for evaluating and ranking the different potential system upgrade options.