Understanding Post-Production Change and Its Implication for System Design: A Case Study in Close Air Support During Desert Storm

Abstract

Complex engineered systems with long life cycles can expect to face operational uncertainty. Systems can either be flexible and change in response to a change in operating environment or can be robust and maintain system performance despite the change in operating environment. There is a wealth of literature surrounding how to design systems to be either flexible or robust, but the literature’s understanding of how systems that are already in use can be modified to operate in changing circumstances is incomplete. This paper examines how numerous aircraft were modified post-production to gain new capabilities for close air support in Operation Desert Storm. Through an inductive case study, the authors find that new capabilities can be gained through changes to form and changes to tactics. Additionally, there is an interaction between form and tactical changes that has not been well defined in existing literature.