A Comparison of Military and Commercial Aircraft Development
Abstract
When compared to the commercial sector, it takes the military almost four times longer to develop an aircraft. For example, Boeing Company developed the 767 jetliner in about four years whereas the Navy's next generation tactical aircraft, the AX, is expected to take 15 years to develop. This research paper examines both commercial and military approaches to aircraft development. The paper focuses on establishing whether or not commercial practices, where more cost effective, can be incorporated into the military acquisition system. The paper illustrates that aircraft development in the commercial and military are different for two fundamental reasons. First. military aircraft development exploits the latest untested developments in technology where the commercial sector relies only on existing technologies. Second, a commercial aircraft is developed for the single mission of ferrying passengers and cargo. Military aircraft are required to perform far more varied and different missions with each parameter driving its own unique challenge for design and testing. This research paper concludes that without similar mission requirements, there are few commercial applications that can be applied to military aircraft development.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 01, 1993
- Accession Number
- ADA276830
Entities
People
- Michael S. Mutty
Organizations
- Dwight D. Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy