Equipment life: can we afford to extend it?

Almost without exception, military equipments remain in service beyond their original planned lives. This paper shows how the ability to extend life is greatly influenced by early project decisions. It describes how the identification and management of life-related risks provides a realistic framework on which to plan an equipment's future. It demonstrates how different procurement strategies deliver equipments with different life qualities. It asserts that a robust product will result when life, itself, and related issues, such as reliability and maintainability (R&M), are afforded sufficient priority in the specification and contract, linking payment milestones to achievement. Justification is given for the need to specify modular construction methods and to address growth and mid-life improvement (MLI) at the outset. Focus on maintenance, aided by integrated logistic support (ILS) principles, during design and in service is shown to assist in prolonging life. Ultimately, the paper affirms that we can afford to extend the life of military equipment, provided that the armed forces can continue to perform effectively in the modern battlefield.