CASE STUDY #1
F-16 AN/APG-68 Radar System Modular Low Power Radio Frequency (MLPRF) Line Replaceable Unit (LRU)
One of the poorest performing LRUs on the F-16
Cracked ribbon cable solder joints
Massive re-soldering program implemented
Shotgun approach to maintenance
No means or equipment to detect intermittence
Results from Intermittent Fault Detection & Isolation System™ (IFDIS™) testing:
400 MLPRF LRU chassis IFDIS tested:
147 were considered "un-repairable" completely out of service
33 had been in the repair depot for over one year
9 had been in the repair depot for over three years
60% had one or more intermittent fault
All of these defects has been missed by conventional depot Automated Test Equipment (ATE)
Cost of a replacement MLPRF LRU chassis is $307,000.00each
Over $39 million dollars worth of flight hardware recovered and counting!
Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF) has more than TRIPLED, an additional cost saving of $11 million dollars!
$50 million dollar Reduction in Total Ownership Cost (RTOC) achieved on one LRU chassis family on one aircraft platform!
Total Government investment $2.2 million dollars, or over a 22 times ROI and growing in less than three years!
CASE STUDY #2
F/A-18 Generator Convertor Unit (GCU) Weapon Replaceable Assembly (WRA)
Second highest degrader in the NAVAIR inventory
High No Fault Found (NFF) rate
High Mission Incapable (MICAP) rate
No means or equipment to detect intermittence or reduce NFF
Results from IFDIS testing:
All GCUs tested were previously considered Ready for Install (RFI) after comprehensive testing by the repair depot –
80% of the GCUs tested had one or more intermittent circuit that went undetected using conventional ATE
CASE STUDY #3
EA-6B AN/AIC-45, Intercommunication System, Weapon Replaceable Assembly (WRA)
High No Fault Found (NFF) rate
High Mission Incapable (MICAP) rate
No means or equipment capable of detecting intermittent / NFF
Results from IFDIS testing:
71% of the AIC-45s tested had one or more intermittent circuit that went undetected using conventional ATE
CASE STUDY #4
F-16 AN/APG-68 Radar System Antenna Azimuth Elevation (AZ/EL) Shop Replaceable Unit (SRU)
Grounding F-16s
Current testing methods and equipment unable to identify defects
Non-reparable item
Purchase price $1,600.00each
IFDIS testing required for GO / NO GO testing
Results from IFDIS testing:
95 AZ/EL SRU ribbon cables IFDIS tested:
76% tested bad and given a NO/GO for use on F-16 aircraft
IFDIS is effectively identifying good and bad cables so that good cables are not unnecessarily discarded, and bad cables are not put into F-16 aircraft.
IFDIS testing of AZ/EL ribbon cables saved the U.S. Air Force over $35,000.00 in just six weeks!
CASE STUDY #5
F-16 AN/APG-68 Radar System Antenna
High MICAP rates
Conventional ATE unable to diagnose intermittent / NFF issues, improve reliability or lower MICAP rates
IFDIS testing quickly identified electronic defects and intermittent faults