The essential issue of reliability is that it competes with achieving more operant capabilities. A reliable system is sturdy. It weighs more. It is more expensive. If the decision to develop capabilities is made in the absence of the design constraints forced by realistic battlefield reliability needs, then programs waste time and money developing capabilities that cannot be suitably realized. Similarly, it is clear that industry will not bid to deliver reliable products unless they are assured the government expects and requires all bidders to take the actions and make the investments up-front needed to develop reliable systems. To obtain reliable products, we must assure vendors' bids to produce reliable products outcompete the cheaper bids that will not.
Reliability constraints must be pushed as far to the left as possible. We need to change what is routinely done. Despite recent and serious attempts by some in DoD to improve the focus on reliability, our data show the overall situation is not improving. Over the 25 years of DOT&E's existence, only about 75 percent of defense systems are found to be suitable in operational testing. At the time of the DSB, DOT&E's Annual Report cited:
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| File | MIME type | Size (KB) | Language | Download | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OSD Memo - State of Reliability - 6-30-10.pdf | application/pdf | 3.07 MB | English | DOWNLOAD! |