Advancement of U.S Army Maintenance Practices for Rotorcraft using MSG Techniques

For the past couple of decades, the U.S Army has made significant efforts to improve the maintenance practices on its aircraft. Studies conducted on condition-based maintenance (CBM/CBM+), reliability centered maintenance (RCM), and many other tools have revealed positive, tangible benefits for the Army. However, a lack of change has caused the Army to continually struggle with operating and sustainment (O&S) costs. This paper aims to analyze the benefits and practicality of applying techniques from the commercial Maintenance Steering Group (MSG) methodology into the U.S Army's maintenance culture. MSG-3 is the current iteration that aims to maximize the accumulated data and optimize scheduled maintenance and sustainment activities. The outcomes of implementing such techniques should be applicable to both current and future platforms of U.S Army rotorcraft and significantly reduce O&S costs while refusing to sacrifice readiness and reliability.