Fixed-Wing Aircraft Combat Survivability Analysis for Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom

The primary tenet of the aircraft survivability discipline is threat definition. In order to deliver relevant capabilities and protection to the warfighter it is imperative; therefore, to provide timely, accurate, and actionable threat data to the survivability community. In an attempt to identify the evolution of aircraft threats in today's combat environment, an analysis of fixed-wing aircraft battle damage was conducted. This analysis reports battle damage incidents from OPERATIONS ENDURING FREEDOM (OEF) and IRAQI FREEDOM(OIF). Additionally, reported damage incidents were then validated by crosschecking aircraft maintenance records from this period to eliminate non-hostile fire data points. This revolutionary approach uncovered discontinuities, which were further explored to identify their root cause. As a result, significant Air Force policy changes in the realm of battle damage reporting procedures were suggested. In the end, lives will be saved because the acquisition community at large will have valuable threat data in which they can be confident.