Estimating weapon system availability as a key model metric to develop ATS roadmaps

The position presented in this paper is that all ATS support planning and acquisition in the DoD must first be able to provide required weapon system availability with financial trades performed on only the subset of solution strategies that meet these operational needs of the end users. This paper presents an analysis of this unique DoD criteria through a discussion of three topics: First, a discussion of classical ATS selection and planning processes; second, the importance of developing strategic long-term roadmaps as part of the ATS acquisition planning activity; and third, the need for a modeling metric that estimates weapon system useable life and availability. Specific examples will be presented based on actual results from United States Air Force ATS roadmap development efforts.