Prognostics and Health Management, in one form or another, has been applied to Aerospace and Military systems for more than 20 years. Early on, the concept was simply to detect and report failures – basic Built-In-Test. That grew into more sophisticated technologies and methods for evaluating the health of equipment and for using the results to direct and support maintenance. Today, the newest weapons systems are integrating sensors at the lowest level of mechanical, electrical, and electronics for integrating the data to provide an accurate assessment of the current state of the systems in near-real time. They are using the information to determine the future state of systems based on changes in system sensor parameters and usage, and using that diagnostic and prognostic knowledge to determine the best way to execute missions and to enhance and support maintenance and logistics. The ability to modify mission plans based on system health helps ensure mission success in the face of system functional degradation. The ability to plan material logistics, pre-positioning spares, and scheduling maintenance based on current and predicted system health creates a much more efficient and effective environment. PHM is central to this concept. The key to applying PHM to Avionics and Military systems is the combination of technology for highly reliable and accurate sensors, algorithms and software design for diagnostics, prognostics, and health management, and definition and development of the integrated environment that uses and matures the PHM capability with the end result being a much more operationally reliable and cost effective system.
