Materiel availability modeling and analysis for a complex Army weapon system

Materiel availability (A_m) is a new US Department of Defense Key Performance Parameter (KPP) implemented through a mandatory Sustainment Metric consisting of an Availability KPP and two supporting Key System Attributes (KSAs), materiel reliability and ownership cost. Sandia National Laboratories (Sandia), in conjunction with several US Army organizations, developed the analytical foundation, assumptions, and brigade-level modeling approach to support lifecycle, fleet-wide A_m modeling and analysis of a complex Army weapon system. Like operational availability (A_o), A_m is dependent on reliability, but A_m is also affected by other factors that do not impact A_o. The largest influences on A_m are technology insertion and reset downtimes. A_m is a different metric from A_o. Whereas A_o is an operational measure, A_m is more of a programmatic measure that spans a much larger timeframe, additional sources of downtime, and add itional sources of unscheduled maintenance.