An analysis of operational availability of Brazilian Navy and Argentine Air Force A-4 fleets using simulation modeling

Abstract

This thesis analyzes the impact of reducing transportation cycle time and consolidating aviation electronic component inventory management on the operational availability of the Brazilian Navy and Argentine Air Force AA fleets. The research is based on a scenario where the Brazilian Navy operates twenty A-4 aircraft, while the Argentine Air Force operates thirty AAs, and both countries rely on manufacturers in the United States for depot-level maintenance. The transportation turn-around-time is extremely long and the cost of some inventory items is very high. A simulation model was developed representing the repair process of a selected group of A4 critical electronic components. This particular model provides an effective managerial resource for long-term decision making to improve the readiness of aircraft fleet for both countries. We also developed a multiple regression analysis model (metamodel) to find the relationship between spare inventory levels and the operational availability. These results were applied to a linear programming model to find optimal spare levels for these critical components by minimizing the total cost while maintaining the desirable military readiness. Through a cost-effectiveness analysis, we compared the two situations, optimal spare levels with reduced transportation time and actual spare level with current transportation time. Our research concludes that both Armed Forces will improve readiness, while achieving significant savings, if they reduce the transportation time for the aviation electronic components sent to the United States for depot-level maintenance, and collaborate on the inventory management of their A-4 fleets.