Abstract
Purpose: Weapon systems have the long life cycle unlike the consumer product. Thus, the reliability of weapon system is improved during the life cycle through the steady technical change. In this paper, we deal with the method of evaluating the reliability of weapon system with the field failure data. Methods: Especially, we present how to gather the field failure data and evaluate the reliability through the case of K-series weapon system. To evaluate reliability, the reliability growth model is used and the result is discussed. Results: It is steadily improved the reliability of K-series weapon system deployed from 2000 to 2004. The frequency of the failures that affect the mission is largely reduced and MTBMF(mean time between mission failure) is also improved. Conclusion: We can guess the trend of the reliability of weapon system with the field data through this study. Furthermore, it can be used to improve the reliability and make maintenance policy.