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
AN/APG-68 MLPRF depot maintenance record (serial # 10435) details see IFDIS briefing (insert link)
Results:
195 MLPRF LRU chassis IFDIS tested:
137 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
130 had one or more intermittent circuits or 67%
40 had "opens", 12 had "shorts" and 7 were wired incorrectly
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 $36 million dollars worth of flight hardware recovered and counting!
Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF) increase from 289 hours to 729 hours, an additional cost saving of $4 million dollars annually!
$40 million dollar Reduction in Total Ownership Cost (RTOC) achieved on one LRU chassis family on one aircraft platform!
One of the largest RTOC Return On Investment (ROI) case studies in the history of the program and growing!
Total Government investment $2.2 million dollars, or over an 18 times ROI and growing!
CASE STUDY #2
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
AN/APG-68 AZ/EL additional information and details see IFDIS briefing (insert link)
Results:
95 AZ/EL SRU ribbon cables IFDIS tested:
24% tested good and given 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 before the system was delivered to the government!