Department of Defense Joint Aircrew Survival Flight Vest

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to analyze the feasibility of a joint aircrew survival flight vest program to satisfy the performance requirements across the military Services. The Department of Defense has multiple type, model, series aircraft in its inventory to meet the capabilities validated by the Joint Requirements Oversight Council. Each aircraft comes with a variety of Aviation Life Support Systems such as the aircrew survival flight vest. There are a variety of aircrew survival flight vests across the Department of Defense performing similar functions such as: ballistic protection, signaling, and communications, and providing flotation in a maritime environment. In recent years, Defense Acquisitions Programs have been becoming more joint by increasing commonality to cut cost by reducing redundant programs among the different services. Currently, the various Aircrew Flight Vest which are being used remain under the control of several program executive offices. This research examined the feasibility of a joint aircrew survival flight vest by using a combination of the case study method and the cost-effectiveness analysis. We concluded that a joint aircrew survival flight vest with a modular design would be the most effective option. The Services will have the flexibility to tailor the joint vest with modules to meet the performance specifications.