One of the under-the-radar problems that has “plagued” SBIRS—and some other DOD programs—is its reliance on the Ada programming language, said Wynne. He added that it is “not popular any longer” and like DOS, which was invented around the same time and is “no longer even talked of,” should be abandoned. “We still have Ada-based programmers trying to [use] it, noted Wynne. He’s convinced that the Air Force—considering technology advances over the past seven years—will be better able to configure the next generation of programs.
As Air Force leaders consider concepts of operations for Collaborative Combat Aircraft, sustainment in the field—and easing that support by using standard parts and limiting variants—should be a key consideration, according to a new study from AFA's Mitchell Institute of Aerospace Studies.