The Mil & Aero Blog
Monday, April 26, 2010
  Parts obsolescence: it's the problem with COTS that just won't go away
Posted by John Keller

Few things have given commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) technology a bad name in military systems more often than obsolete electronic parts. These are the chips, diodes, connectors, and other components that generally do not have long shelf lives in commercial electronics, but which when designed into military systems can cause big and continuing headaches.

The reason parts obsolescence is so anathema to military systems designers is lack of long-term support that the defense industry culturally has relied on for decades. While desktop computers easily can go out of date every few years, military systems often must function for decades and even longer.

Historically, military systems designers relied heavily on a procurement system with long-term spare parts availability, as well as detailed traceability that enabled engineers not only to keep track of where to find spare parts, but also to track the reliability and quality of available spare parts. They gave barely a thought to obsolescence management.

No so with COTS parts, for which manufacturers often end-of-life manufacturing lines and parts types with little or no warning to the systems designers who depend on them. What this phenomenon has caused is an across-the-board rethinking of all notions of system sustainment, repair, and technology upgrades.

Obsolescence management in the COTS era constantly requires systems designers to rethink how they will repair and upgrade technology over the long term, and so exchanging ideas, successes, mistakes, and lessons learned has taken on profound importance.

The opportunity for systems designers to compare notes and learn from one another will present itself in a presentation by Jeff Hanser, chief technology officer for Resource Analysis Corp. in San Diego, at the Military & Aerospace Electronics Forum conference and trade show at 1:30 p.m. Thursday, 2 June at the San Diego Convention Center.

Hanser and other panelists will discuss the challenges of obsolescence management related to off-the-shelf parts, as well as possible solutions for managing obsolescence through open systems. Those attending can ask questions, offer their own solutions, and learn from one another during an anticipated lively question and answer period.

Register to attend the Military & Aerospace Electronics Forum online at www.pennwellregistration.com/online/LoginServlet?confId=362, by fax at 918-831-9161 with a downloadable .pdf, or by post with the downloadable .pdf to Military & Aerospace Electronics Forum/Avionics USA Conference & Exhibition Registration, P.O. Box 973059, Dallas, TX 75397-3059.

Subscribe

Follow me on Twitter

Join the PennWell Aerospace and Defense Media Group on Linkedin at http://bit.ly/9MXl9

Become a fan of Military & Aerospace Electronics on Facebook at http://bit.ly/1VGM0Q

Post your aerospace and defense-related material to the #milaero community on Twitter. Use the #milaero hashtag.
 
The MAE editorial staff uses the Military Aerospace and Electronics Blog to share ...

Archives
November 2007 / December 2007 / January 2008 / February 2008 / March 2008 / April 2008 / May 2008 / June 2008 / July 2008 / August 2008 / September 2008 / October 2008 / November 2008 / December 2008 / January 2009 / February 2009 / March 2009 / April 2009 / May 2009 / June 2009 / July 2009 / August 2009 / September 2009 / October 2009 / November 2009 / December 2009 / January 2010 / February 2010 / March 2010 / April 2010 / May 2010 / June 2010 / July 2010 / August 2010 / September 2010 / October 2010 / November 2010 / December 2010 / January 2011 / February 2011 / March 2011 / April 2011 / May 2011 / June 2011 / July 2011 / August 2011 / September 2011 / October 2011 / November 2011 / December 2011 /


Powered by Blogger

Subscribe to
Posts [Atom]