Implications of R&M 2000 on Software

This paper presents the implications on software of the US Air Force Reliability and Maintainability Action Plan: R&M 2000, whose objective is to improve defense system reliability and maintainability. These implications are very important, even though R&M 2000 does not explicitly mention software. However, Air Force Regulation 800-18, which implements R&M 2000, does state that ``system ... comprises both hardware and software elements´´ and includes the requirement to ``integrate the development of reliable software into the overall system development and acquisition program.´´ Further, the US Department of Defense (DoD) Software Initiatives, new DoD Directives, and other Air Force Regulations on software, together with industry/academic initiatives, are intended to result in policies, standards, and specifications which lead to defense system software with requisite reliability and maintainability. This difficult goal can be achieved provided that: ¿The DoD Software Initiatives successfully create new software technology and transfer it to industry. ¿Industry associations (eg, Electronic Industries Association [EIA], National Industrial Security Association INSIA]) and professional societies (eg, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers [IEEE], American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics [AIAA]) create and improve software reliability and maintainability standards through effective committee work. ¿Industry/Academe upgrade software development procedures to be consistent with software engineering principles based on Ada® technology.