Posturing Spares for Strategic Power Competition

Abstract

As the distribution of power evolves across the world and creates new threats, the Department of Defense (DOD) must continually seek ways to maintain a competitive advantage among dimensions of power that enable us to advance our interests and values. America’s competitors are becoming more assertive and technologically sound, meaning the Navy must improve readiness and adopt innovative capabilities. In the face of strategic challenges, it is important that there is a shift from legacy platforms to novel weapon system readiness. The purpose of this research was to evaluate the survivability of a primary defense weapon system onboard Arleigh Burke Class guided-missile destroyers (DDGs), the Phalanx Close-in-Weapon-System (CIWS), under continuous operation in a contested environment based on current supply forecasting. Currently, forecast supply models do not consider the increased demand in contested environments or additive manufacturing solution-based delivery. To extend the defense operational availability (Ao) time of primary defense systems, a selection methodology was used to identify the weapon components with the highest failure rates. Through simulation-based modeling, these components were evaluated for additive manufacturing capabilities and potential production onboard. This thesis exposed a critical shortcoming of the supply capacity in a contested environment while offering potential solutions to increase the effectiveness of operational sustainment.