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Air Force Institute of Technology

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Full-Text Articles in Business

Shifting Satellite Control Paradigms: Operational Cybersecurity In The Age Of Megaconstellations, Carl A. Poole, Robert A. Bettinger, Mark Reith Oct 2021

Shifting Satellite Control Paradigms: Operational Cybersecurity In The Age Of Megaconstellations, Carl A. Poole, Robert A. Bettinger, Mark Reith

Faculty Publications

The introduction of automated satellite control systems into a space-mission environment historically dominated by human-in-the-loop operations will require a more focused understanding of cybersecurity measures to ensure space system safety and security. On the ground-segment side of satellite control, the debut of privately owned communication antennas for rent and a move to cloud-based operations or mission centers will bring new requirements for cyber protection for both Department of Defense and commercial satellite operations alike. It is no longer a matter of whether automation will be introduced to satellite operations, but how quickly satellite operators can adapt to the onset of …


Performance Improvement Through Better Understanding Of Supply Chain Resilience, Amanda L. Femano Sep 2021

Performance Improvement Through Better Understanding Of Supply Chain Resilience, Amanda L. Femano

Theses and Dissertations

Businesses operate every day in a disruptive environment. Supply and demand uncertainty, natural disasters, global pandemics, and mishaps can all cause chaos to a supply chain’s flow. It is impossible to predict every disruption a supply chain may encounter. The best an organization can do to protect network performance is to build resilience in the supply chain and life-blood of its operations. Ensuring that a supply chain has the proper built-in mechanisms to resist and recover from disruptions is referred to as Supply Chain Resilience (SCR). While it is generally agreed that SCR can be improved through the implementation of …


Developing A Basic Formal Supply Chain Ontology To Improve Communication And Interoperability, David Morrow Jun 2021

Developing A Basic Formal Supply Chain Ontology To Improve Communication And Interoperability, David Morrow

Theses and Dissertations

Information is crucial to supply chain performance because it is used to make decisions and trigger actions. Organizations across world-class supply chains increasingly use information technology to analyze and process supply chain data. However, supply chain management lacks a common language, making information exchange difficult. An ontology can provide a standardized framework that organizes a given knowledge domain. This research proposes a common language for developing a supply chain ontology that can be built into a basic formal ontology understood by both humans and computers. According to current research, an established and widely used supply chain framework is a good …


Examining The Influence Of Source Dependence On Supplier Performance In The Usaf Organic Supply Chain, Thomas A. Counter Jun 2021

Examining The Influence Of Source Dependence On Supplier Performance In The Usaf Organic Supply Chain, Thomas A. Counter

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to examine the U.S. Air Force's dependence toward sole sourcing and how that influences procurement outcomes in terms of supplier performance. This research used linear regression to explain the effect of source dependence and supplier size on performance categories for 326 suppliers. The five supplier performance categories in the study included timeliness, cost control, quality, business relations, and regulatory compliance. The research found that the USAFs dependence on sole sourcing had a small but statistically significant influence on all five aspects of supplier performance, with timeliness being the most adversely impacted.


Prioritizing Facilities Linked To Corporate Strategic Objectives Using A Fuzzy Model, Devin Depalmer, Steven J. Schuldt, Justin D. Delorit Jun 2021

Prioritizing Facilities Linked To Corporate Strategic Objectives Using A Fuzzy Model, Devin Depalmer, Steven J. Schuldt, Justin D. Delorit

Faculty Publications

Excerpt: Limited facilities operating and modernization budgets require organizations to carefully identify, prioritize and authorize projects to ensure allocated resources align with strategic objectives. Traditional facility prioritization methods using risk matrices can be improved to increase granularity in categorization and avoid mathematical error or human cognitive biases. These limitations restrict the utility of prioritizations and if erroneously used to select projects for funding, they can lead to wasted resources. This paper aims to propose a novel facility prioritization methodology that corrects these assessment design and implementation issues.


Predicting F-16 Cause Code H Micap Hours Using Jmp Regression Analysis, Scott E. Carr Mar 2021

Predicting F-16 Cause Code H Micap Hours Using Jmp Regression Analysis, Scott E. Carr

Theses and Dissertations

Emergency demands for aircraft parts, MICAPs (Mission Impaired Capability Awaiting Parts) are one of the leading issues affecting mission capability supply rates for fighter aircraft. Cause code H MICAPS, those with a known demand level, but no supply available, are particularly troublesome and difficult to resolve. These MICAPS are due to failures by the supply chain to replenish stock levels within acceptable time limits. Numerous studies have identified a clear need for proactive measures to reduce MICAP hours. This would significantly improve aircraft availability. This study uses regression analysis implemented in JMP software to build models with a goal of …


Usaf Fms Manpower Analysis: Manpower Ratios And Linear Regression, Carlos A. Esguerra Mar 2021

Usaf Fms Manpower Analysis: Manpower Ratios And Linear Regression, Carlos A. Esguerra

Theses and Dissertations

This research studies the relationships between Air Force Foreign Military Sales (FMS) case factors and manpower authorizations. The Air Force FMS program has seen consistent annual increases in sales since 2017 and average annual growth of 7 percent since 2006. Manpower is a key factor in the continued success of the FMS program. The need to predict future manpower requirements and the lack of prior research in this area motivates this exploratory analysis to determine which FMS case factors are potential candidates to predict manpower needs. An initial comparison analysis of the available FMS case data was conducted, followed by …


An Examination Of Civilian Retention In The United States Air Force, William F. Wilson Mar 2021

An Examination Of Civilian Retention In The United States Air Force, William F. Wilson

Theses and Dissertations

The backbone of the United States Air Force is undoubtedly the large civilian workforce that supplements the great work that is accomplished. Many research studies have been conducted on officer and enlisted personnel to ensure that the career fields are properly developed and managed to meet the ever growing demands of the military's varied missions, but no recent studies have focused on the civilian workforce. Striking a balance between new and experienced employees is paramount to success given the ever-changing economic and political landscapes where we find ourselves. The first part of the research uses logistic regression to determine the …


Dual Approach To Examining Success In The Air Force Small Business Innovation Program, Kaitlyn E. Ryan Mar 2021

Dual Approach To Examining Success In The Air Force Small Business Innovation Program, Kaitlyn E. Ryan

Theses and Dissertations

Innovation is critical enough to the Department of Defense (DoD) that it is called out in both the National Defense Strategy as well as the Air Force Vision. This research takes a dual approach to consider how to improve innovation in the Air Force Small Business Innovation (SBIR) program. An investigation will be conducted to assess the relationship between perspective, incentive, innovation type and innovation success. This will be followed by an investigation to determine company characteristics that influence innovation commercialization. This document is presented in the form of two articles drafted for publication. The first article investigates the definition …


Economic Moat: A Line Of Defense For The Defense Industry, Karina M. Fernando Mar 2021

Economic Moat: A Line Of Defense For The Defense Industry, Karina M. Fernando

Theses and Dissertations

Defense contractor financial performance is traditionally measured using accounting profit. In academic literature, accounting profit has been proxied through different applications of accounting rates of return. However, the use of these rates pose certain limitations. First, accounting rates of return have been applied inconsistently. Next, academic research has not typically assessed accounting returns against a firms opportunity costs. As a result, there is a literature gap in defense research that assesses whether defense contractors earn sustainable returns beyond the cost to produce those returns.


Analysis Of Time-Phased Estimates Accuracy, Budget Profile And Under-Spending In Defense Acquisition Programs, Thinh Q. Tran Mar 2021

Analysis Of Time-Phased Estimates Accuracy, Budget Profile And Under-Spending In Defense Acquisition Programs, Thinh Q. Tran

Theses and Dissertations

As fiscal resources become more limited due to the expanding range of mission needs, accurate cost estimating and budgeting have become more important than ever before. Accurate cost estimates allow the Department of Defense (DoD) to budget with confidence and to effectively communicate its needs to Congress. This research looks to analyze estimates from Air Force’s programs using Milestone B and Initial Operational Capability as the analysis window. Initial analysis of the linear interpolation of the percent budget change indicates that there is underspending in the earlier stages of acquisition programs’ development cycle. Additionally, looking at the cumulative budget change …


An Analysis Of The Effects Of Technology Readiness Levels On Cost Growth, Christopher R. Bissing Mar 2021

An Analysis Of The Effects Of Technology Readiness Levels On Cost Growth, Christopher R. Bissing

Theses and Dissertations

This research seeks to evaluate the effects of Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) on Cost Growth. It makes use of data from Technology Readiness Assessments (TRA) and Selected Acquisition Reports (SAR) to explore relationships between TRLs at Milestone B and cost growth in Major Defense Acquisition Programs (MDAP) and Major Automated Information Systems (MAIS). Programs using higher proportions of critical technologies rated below TRL 7 tend to experience greater cost growth than programs that use more mature technologies. Current DoD doctrine requires TRL 6 to enter Milestone B. The results of this research seek to evaluate the merit of this requirement. …


Resilient Maintenance Infrastructure: Dynamic Repair Network Designs To Effectively Manage Supply Chain Disruptions, David W. Wallace Iii Mar 2021

Resilient Maintenance Infrastructure: Dynamic Repair Network Designs To Effectively Manage Supply Chain Disruptions, David W. Wallace Iii

Theses and Dissertations

Supply chains are facing numerous changes contributing to their increase in complexity and vulnerability to disruptions. Subsequently, decision-makers lack a transparent, generalizable tool to quantify supply chain resilience and assess additional resilience investments. This research facilitates a more profound understanding of the intricacies and interrelation of supply chain nodes and constructs. It integrates the Area under the Curve (AUC) metric to quantify performance or any organizational measure of competitive advantage amid a disruption. Due to its structural resemblance to various organizational platforms, the subset United States Air Force (USAF) F-16 engine repair and supply network is modeled employing discrete-event simulation. …


Resupply Operations Of A Dispersed Infantry Brigade Combat Team Using Approximate Dynamic Programming, Camero K. Song Mar 2021

Resupply Operations Of A Dispersed Infantry Brigade Combat Team Using Approximate Dynamic Programming, Camero K. Song

Theses and Dissertations

Military sustainment planners must consider the effective employment of Cargo Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (CUAVs) into resupply operations under austere threat conditions. Viewed as an inventory routing problem, the complexities of resupplying dislocated Forward Operating Bases (FOBs) under dangerous and dynamic conditions warrant additional features to the baseline problem. This research models a military stochastic inventory routing problem with multiple routing (MIL SIRP- MR) as a Markov decision process (MDP) model and provides high-quality policy solutions using a combination of approximate dynamic programming and ordinal optimization techniques.


Guidance For Building Motivation In Space Operator Training, Foster E. Davis Mar 2021

Guidance For Building Motivation In Space Operator Training, Foster E. Davis

Theses and Dissertations

Services provided by spacecraft, including communications and global positioning, are integral to small businesses, multinational corporations, and the United States Department of Defense. United States rivals recognize the need to undermine the military advantage provided by the space domain and are exploring ways to degrade these services in their warfare doctrine. In response, the United States will need space systems suited to counter these threats and personnel who are trained to respond to the new reality of a contested space environment. This paper also reviews the academic literature and written guidelines for developing motivation in an interactive environment for improving …


An Examination Of Potential Training Regression Recognition Algorithms For Pilot Training Next, Alex R. Gaines Mar 2021

An Examination Of Potential Training Regression Recognition Algorithms For Pilot Training Next, Alex R. Gaines

Theses and Dissertations

The initiative to reduce the Air Forces serious pilot shortage lead to the Pilot Training Next (PTN) program. Under PTN, student pilots progress at an individual rate while making increased use of simulator-based training resources. A previous thesis used data from the first PTN class to conceptualize and prototype a student training flight scheduler. This scheduler did not consider training events required to bring students back to achieved levels of performance if in fact that student performance had regressed. This thesis examines three classes of PTN student data to determine whether student regression in training progression can be detected. A …


A Survey Of The Strategic Alternate Sourcing Program Offices Management Of United States Air Force Diminishing Manufacturing Sources And Material Shortages Subject Matter Experts, David E. Portée Mar 2021

A Survey Of The Strategic Alternate Sourcing Program Offices Management Of United States Air Force Diminishing Manufacturing Sources And Material Shortages Subject Matter Experts, David E. Portée

Theses and Dissertations

The office designated by the Air Force to be DMSMS subject expert program office is known as the Strategic Alternate Sourcing Program Office (SASPO). Aided by the USAF Program Offices and DMSMS Subject Matter Experts, the SASPO is responsible for sourcing DMSMS resolutions as well as the organizing, training, and equipping of the Program Offices DMSMS Programs. Using quantitative research, this study conducts a survey, with the USAF Program Offices as the unit of analysis, to gain insight as to where the SASPO is doing well and where gaps exist in their program management. The analysis and conclusion identify where …


The Obstacles To The Modernization Of Common Support Equipment, J. Erik Ritschard Mar 2021

The Obstacles To The Modernization Of Common Support Equipment, J. Erik Ritschard

Theses and Dissertations

The current fleet of Common Support Equipment (CSE) is faced with a $2B funding disconnect that threatens 9 of the 12 USAF Core Functions. This research identifies the barriers to efforts to modernize CSE across the sustainment, acquisition, and maintenance communities. Using a qualitative, grounded theory methodology, the responses are explored of interviewed Support Equipment managers responsible for the sustainment and modernization of CSE. Significant barriers to current modernization efforts were exposed, resulting in expensive, duplicative, and unreliable equipment; concluding that the AF must change the way CSE is administrated, funded, and culturally understood to prevent future mission degradation.


Examining Military Cargo Pilots' Eco-Friendly Flying Intention, Ioan A. Gaitan Mar 2021

Examining Military Cargo Pilots' Eco-Friendly Flying Intention, Ioan A. Gaitan

Theses and Dissertations

The US Air Force is the largest operational energy consumer within the Department of Defense primarily due to aviation fuel use. Military pilots can play important roles in saving aviation fuel by flying aircraft in an eco-friendly manner. According to the theory of planned behavior (TPB), intention is the major predictor of behavior. This study tests two models based on TPB for understanding cargo pilots’ eco-friendly intentions when they conduct channel or logistics missions. The study found that attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavior control were significant antecedents to intention in a multiple regression with aggregated scales.


Use Of Factors In Development Estimates: Improving The Cost Analysis Toolkit, Matthew R. Markman, Jonathan D. Ritschel, Edward D. White Jan 2021

Use Of Factors In Development Estimates: Improving The Cost Analysis Toolkit, Matthew R. Markman, Jonathan D. Ritschel, Edward D. White

Faculty Publications

Factor Estimating is a technique commonly used by defense acquisition analysts to develop cost estimations. However, previous studies developing factors for the Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) phase of the life cycle are limited. This research expands the current toolkit for cost analysts by developing cost factors in previously unexplored areas. More specifically, over 400 cost reports are utilized to create new standard cost factors that are delineated by five categories: commodity type, contract type, contractor type, development type, and Service. The factors are developed for those elements that are common in a wide array of projects such as program …


Quantifying The Effects Of Aircraft Engine Upgrades On Operating And Support Costs, Bradford A. Myers, Edward D. White, Jonathan D. Ritschel, R. David Fass Jan 2021

Quantifying The Effects Of Aircraft Engine Upgrades On Operating And Support Costs, Bradford A. Myers, Edward D. White, Jonathan D. Ritschel, R. David Fass

Faculty Publications

For fixed wing aircraft within the U.S. Air Force, Operating and Support (O&S) costs encompass a large portion of total life cycle costs. O&S costs include fuel, maintenance, and engine upgrades. To the authors’ knowledge, no study to date has attempted to empirically quantify the realized effects of new aircraft engines on sustainment costs. Utilizing the Air Force Total Ownership Cost database, they focused on new engines appearing on the C-5s, C-130s, and C-135s. Although narrow in scope, results suggest newer engines have lower fuel costs. Maintenance costs for newer engines were not consistently higher or lower than the engines …


Agile Software Development: Creating A Cost Of Delay Framework For Air Force Software Factories, J. Goljan, Jonathan D. Ritschel, Scott Drylie, Edward D. White Jan 2021

Agile Software Development: Creating A Cost Of Delay Framework For Air Force Software Factories, J. Goljan, Jonathan D. Ritschel, Scott Drylie, Edward D. White

Faculty Publications

The Air Force software development environment is experiencing a paradigm shift. The 2019 Defense Innovation Board concluded that speed and cycle time must become the most important software metrics if the US military is to maintain its advantage over adversaries.1 This article proposes utilizing a cost-o­f-d­elay (CoD) framework to prioritize projects toward optimizing readiness. Cost-­of-d­elay is defined as the economic impact resulting from a delaying product delivery or, said another way, opportunity cost. In principle, CoD assesses the negative impacts resulting from changes to the priority of a project.


A Learning Curve Model Accounting For The Flattening Effect In Production Cycles, Evan R. Boone, John J. Elshaw, Clay M. Koschnick, Jonathan D. Ritschel, Adedeji B. Badiru Jan 2021

A Learning Curve Model Accounting For The Flattening Effect In Production Cycles, Evan R. Boone, John J. Elshaw, Clay M. Koschnick, Jonathan D. Ritschel, Adedeji B. Badiru

Faculty Publications

We investigate production cost estimates to identify and model modifications to a prescribed learning curve. Our new model examines the learning rate as a decreasing function over time as opposed to a constant rate that is frequently used. The purpose of this research is to determine whether a new learning curve model could be implemented to reduce the error in cost estimates for production processes. A new model was created that mathematically allows for a “flattening effect,” which typically occurs later in the production process. This model was then compared to Wright’s learning curve, which is a popular method used …


Establishing The Foundations To Measure Organizational Agility For Military Organizations, Jeremy R. Geiger, John J. Elshaw, David R. Jacques Nov 2020

Establishing The Foundations To Measure Organizational Agility For Military Organizations, Jeremy R. Geiger, John J. Elshaw, David R. Jacques

Faculty Publications

There is an ongoing demand for organizations to become more agile in order to prosper amongst their competitors. Many military organizations have declared a renewed focus towards organizational agility. The goal of this research is to isolate the variables needed to measure organizational agility (OA) in military organizations, allowing for the future development of a suitable method to measure OA without the need to interact with outside organizations. This article begins by providing a suitable and formal definition of organizational agility by exploring and analyzing relevant scholarly literature on the subject. Related terms, such as organizational resiliency, flexibility, robustness, versatility, …


Investigation Of An Avionics Part Deficiencies In Royal Saudi Air Force Fleets, Nasser S. Alanazi Sep 2020

Investigation Of An Avionics Part Deficiencies In Royal Saudi Air Force Fleets, Nasser S. Alanazi

Theses and Dissertations

The Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) is experiencing a shortage in certain avionics parts due to a lack of reliability. This issue is causing a supply chain disturbance in the F1-15 fleet and the Hawk fleet. One of the factors behind this problem is the environmental effects in Saudi Arabia .The study will investigate and analyze the methods for the Improvement Cycle Processes and the Quality Management within the RSAF repair cycle. Finding show that, the discrepancies are rising during summer and fall time due to the environment change, Other finding were addressed in the study.


Agility Measurement For Large Organizations, Jeremy R. Geiger Sep 2020

Agility Measurement For Large Organizations, Jeremy R. Geiger

Theses and Dissertations

There is an ongoing demand for organizations to become more agile in order to prosper amongst their competitors. Many organizations, including the United States Department of Defense (DoD), have declared a renewed focus towards organizational agility. This research begins by providing a suitable and formal definition of organizational agility (OA) by exploring and analyzing relevant scholarly literature on the subject. Existing methods to measure OA are examined and summarized, and their current limitations are highlighted. Previous studies to find characteristics associated with organizational agility are examined and the Q-sort method was employed to discover, analyze and eliminate redundant items from …


Aligning Performance Management Systems For Lasting Outcomes In Humanitarian Operations, Kalyn M. Howard Sep 2020

Aligning Performance Management Systems For Lasting Outcomes In Humanitarian Operations, Kalyn M. Howard

Theses and Dissertations

Logistics is dynamic, expansive, and critical to organizational success. While it is generally believed that effective logistics management is associated with positive performance outcomes, the links between organizational practice and performance are understudied. This dissertation leverages resource-based theory and organizational learning theory to examine organizational practice and performance in non-traditional logistics settings, with particular focus on military organizations and humanitarian operational settings. First, a meta-analytical study establishes generalizable associations between various operations management practices and performance outcomes. Then, this is applied to dynamic humanitarian logistics settings, exploring how practitioners perceive practice and performance, and how this is reported and documented …


Strategic Sourcing Of Air Force Contingency Pharmaceuticals: A Cost-Benefit Analysis Approach, Adam J. Brubakken Mar 2020

Strategic Sourcing Of Air Force Contingency Pharmaceuticals: A Cost-Benefit Analysis Approach, Adam J. Brubakken

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research is to identify and explore effective supply chain management principles as mitigating measures to improve contingency pharmaceutical item shortfalls in the Air Force Medical Service Contingency Pharmaceutical Program. Analysis of current pharmaceutical shortages demonstrates a significant trend of insufficient demand signals for various pharmaceutical items, resulting in instances of non-fulfillment by private sector suppliers. Through the scope of transaction cost economics, a cost-benefit analysis for various alternatives was conducted. The proposed alternatives evaluated in this thesis include continuation of the status quo, centralized procurement models from a single site, and procurement from regionally designated ordering …


Predicting Pilot Success Using Machine Learning, Aaron C. Giddings Mar 2020

Predicting Pilot Success Using Machine Learning, Aaron C. Giddings

Theses and Dissertations

The United States Air Force has a pilot shortage. Unfortunately, training an Air Force pilot requires significant time and resources. Thus, diligence and expediency are critical in selecting those pilot candidates with a strong possibility of success. This research applies multivariate and statistical machine learning techniques to pilot candidates pre-qualification test data and undergraduate pilot training results to determine whether there are selected pre-qualification tests or specific training evaluations that do a \best" job of screening for successful pilot training candidates and distinguished graduates. Flight experience, both during training and otherwise, indicates pilot training completion and performance.


Conceptualization And Application Of Deep Learning And Applied Statistics For Flight Plan Recommendation, Nicholas C. Forrest Mar 2020

Conceptualization And Application Of Deep Learning And Applied Statistics For Flight Plan Recommendation, Nicholas C. Forrest

Theses and Dissertations

The Air Forces Pilot Training Next (PTN) program seeks a more efficient pilot training environment emphasizing the use of virtual reality flight simulators alongside periodic real aircraft experience. The PTN program wants to accelerate the training pace and progress in undergraduate pilot training compared to traditional undergraduate pilot training. Currently, instructor pilots spend excessive time planning and scheduling flights. This research focuses on methods to auto-generate the planning of in-flight events using hybrid filtering and deep learning techniques. The resulting approach captures temporal trends of user-specific and program-wide student performance to recommend a feasible set of graded flight events for …