9. Obsolescence and Legacy Systems

Obsolescence is the state when a component is no longer useful, not current, or not available for manufacture [41]. A system may be obsolete but still useful—this is the case for legacy systems where a part or component or tool is no longer supported by industry, and which often disrupts the operation of a system and its maintenance and support.

Obsolescence within military systems is an increasing problem. One problem precipitating obsolescence is that military systems have long life spans of 20, 30, or 50 years or even more (the airframes on some B-52 bombers in the U.S. Air Force have exceeded 50 years), while commercial technology and COTS equipment have design cycles measured in months. This mismatch in ...

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