Life Cycle Of A Military Product

In comparison to civilian products of wide use, military-technical systems are a distinctive category of material commodities whose life is defined by a period of peace of a certain evolution. Following are three main points of the life cycle of a military product:

1. The introduction of the life cycle of a military product.

2. The concept of a military product’s life cycle.

3. The military approach to the life-cycle concept of a product.

1. The introduction of the life cycle of a military product.

The unique properties of military products, their exorbitant price, and their societal utility determine this particular progression of the life cycle. The necessity to cover the security needs that these reinvigorated technical systems can supply under an economically financially beneficial balance is essentially related to the "repeatability" of the life cycle to another beneficiary. These “spiral” lifecycles of military-oriented products are a variation that certain reputable material goods makers have adopted (from the luxury vehicle sector) with great economic results as much as feasible chosen for marketing reasons. Although this approach may not appear to be very advantageous at first glance, it can be a quick and beneficial solution for the second user who can benefit from the capabilities of a reliable and verified technical system that has been upgraded to the current level of global performance in the short and medium-term. This method is ideal for countries with a moderate economic power but significant security needs, such as those imposed by NATO membership, as well as the current complex geopolitical scenario.

2. The concept of a military product’s life cycle.

Product Life Cycle (PLC) refers to a product's average lifespan and indicates the length of time a product/brand of a product spends on the market, beginning with its introduction and ending with its discontinuation (these two phases can be identified with ease). Many authors compare the concept to biology, where products are born, grow, develop, and eventually get older and die.

According to Rey, Martn-Gil, and Velasco (2004), there are two major conceptions about a product's life cycle. The first (and most common) claim is that a product has four stages in its life cycle:

1. release;

2. the growth;

3. maturity;

4. decline.

3. The military approach to the life-cycle concept of a product.

According to the American perspective of integrated logistics support for military-technical systems, as outlined in the Support Operations Handbook, special-purpose items go through the following life-cycle stages:

1. the definition phase (examination of the concept);

2. demonstration – validation stage;

3. the design and testing stage;

4. the production and deployment phase;

5. operation (operation) and support (maintenance) stage;

6. phase-out stage

A detailed approach to this lifecycle of military goods is presented by Siteanu, E., (2005) who enumerated fifteen stages:

1. analyzing (determining) the necessity of manufacturing a technical product, determining the destination, formulating the functions and establishing the requirements (specification);

2. definition of the technical product and functional analysis, the establishment of the criteria and resources of research, design and development;

3. analysis of probable variants, possible realizations and choosing the optimal ones;

4. preliminary design;

5. design documentation design;

6. detailed design of the product;

7. manufacture of the prototype (functional model);

8. prototype testing and its assessment;

9. preparation of the manufacturing;

10. realization of the zero series, experimentation under the required conditions and approval;

11. serial production and delivery to the beneficiaries;

12. the exploitation of the products to the beneficiaries and the maintenance activities;

13. performing improvement (modernization) activities;

14. removal from service;

15. revitalization (optional).

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