An Analysis of Critical Material Failures of the Close-In-Weapons-System Onboard U.S. Guided Missile Destroyers

Abstract

To analyze the current state of the CIWS weapon system and decide what improvements can be used to improve system operational readiness and life cycle support. Currently CIWS is supported by a Readiness Based Sparing Model that has drawn criticism from senior naval leaders for the operational availability (Ao) that it provides. We will analyze data to derive a list of five "key offenders” parts that heavily impact operational availability of CIWS. We will also analyze how improving the sparing of these "key offenders” can potentially improve operational availability. Additionally, we will analyze the timing of actual failures in the fleet. This research addresses CIWS operational readiness and lifecycle support while exploring whether other processes can be used to improve the operational readiness of US Guided Missile destroyer's CIWS Systems.