earticle

영어

The term endurance is usually defined as “the probability of a specific system or equipment to successfully perform its expected functions without any failure until its target life cycle is terminated or replacement is required.” The standard used for endurance drive testing for combat vehicle development in the Republic of Korea is currently dominated by the U.S. military’s MIL-STD due to the absence of an independent standard specifically designed for the distinctive battlefield environment and mission characteristics of the Korean Peninsula. For tracked vehicles, the absence of such standard signifies the uniform application of the U.S. military’s MIL-STD for 9,600km endurance drive testing utilizing only one vehicle while not considering the distinctive mission characteristics and operational environment of the target systems. This study proposes a reasonable standard for endurance drive testing that takes the distinctive mission characteristics and operation environment of the target weapons system into account. The first step is the categorization of vehicle systems into three types in accordance with the categorization standard for combat vehicles established by ROK: combat vehicle, combat command vehicle, and combat support vehicle. Then the proper distance for endurance drive testing will be determined by deciding the appropriate fidelity standard level and the number of vehicles required for endurance drive testing. If the endurance drive testing standard will be improved as proposed in this study, adequate verification of the target performance at the R&D phase and substantial reduction of the time required for testing and evaluation will become possible. For the weapons systems development programs, subjecting combat vehicles to adequate and scientific testing and evaluation at the development phase after serial production is the preliminary condition for meeting the pre-planned performance level and for ensuring the economical operation of combat vehicle systems in field operation.