Aging military aircraft landscape - A case for end-of-life fleet optimization

Military aircraft fleets are continuing to age despite increased structural integrity concerns and rising maintenance costs. Aircraft are not being replaced or retired in large numbers but are instead having their lives extended beyond their original design service lives. Because aging aircraft cost more to maintain, this additional burden on air forces is a forcing function for smarter approaches to enhanced structural health monitoring. As data recorder technology has improved and recording capacity has increased, structural health monitoring tools have become more important in understanding aircraft life. Accrued historical data present opportunities for end-of-life fleet optimization. This paper provides a thorough review of the aging aircraft problem and suggests a direction for future end-of-life fleet optimization research. The suggestions include the alteration of aircraft utilization, optimization for aircraft basing and the prediction of structural fatigue, all of which can enable the realization of fleetwide cost savings.