Multi-Mission Maritime Aircraft Acquisition Planning: Requirements Development and Maturation

he Multi-mission Maritime Aircraft Program will recapitalize the Navy’s capabilities for Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance currently provided by the P-3 Orion fl eet. The P-3 has performed a variety of missions, including armed surveillance and reconnaissance tasking, for more than 30 years. Although onboard systems capabilities have been upgraded continually through the years, the aging P-3 fl eet will soon reach the end of its fatigue life. Faced with a limited development budget, rapidly diminishing P-3 airframe life, and the need to fi eld replacement aircraft in the 2012–2014 timeframe, the program has focused on modifi cations to existing military or commercial airframes. The systems engineering strategy has emphasized developing, refi ning, managing, and translating affordable, technically achievable requirements as a primary objective. Establishing systems engineering processes that seamlessly link requirements from Defense Planning Guidance to performance specifi cations and collaborating with industry partners to mature system requirements are hallmarks of the program philosophy.