David Fruchey is a Senior Technical Specialist with the Advanced Technology and Development Center of Northrop Grumman in Pico Rivera, California, where he is program manager and leads senior engineers and scientists in the design and analysis of future military systems. His organization, Operational Requirements Analysis, has two primary roles inside Northrop Grumman: analysis of tactical systems to determine their operational requirements and the performance of Man-In-The-Loop (MITL) Simulator analysis of advanced weapons systems. When he joined this group in 1992, he began by performing requirements analysis and MITL tests, and later become a manager.
Mathematics is used at every step of the design and analysis phases to assess the mission effectiveness of proposed and existing systems. "We begin by developing an analysis plan and simulation requirements document and finish by analyzing the raw data and preparing a final report, including statistical results," says David. Data on mission, system and crew performance, such as system survivability, system effectiveness, crew workload, enemy encounters, etc., is collected during simulator tests. The raw data is processed using traditional statistical methods, and the results are compared across different system versions or tactical concepts. "This analysis becomes part of the weapon system profile," he says, "and is used in engineering trade studies."
This type of analysis was recently used to support the Joint Advanced Strike Technology (JAST) Program. "The JAST program was the precursor to the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF)," notes David. "The JSF is the next US Air Force, US Navy, US Marine Corps, and Her Majesty's Royal Marines strike fighter. It is planned that the JSF will replace the F-16, A-10, and AV-8 aircraft. This is a critical program for the joint services."
Currently he is using a weighted analysis technique to compare and contrast complex systems. The basic components and design features are weighted according to their utility, cost, risk, technical requirements, and development requirements. "A concept ranking, within a family of similar concepts, is developed using these data," says David. "The results of these analyses are used to select promising candidates for further evaluation and potential development."
David has a B.A. and a M.A. in mathematics from California State University, Fullerton. He obtained his initial position at Nothrop Grumman in 1985 through contact with a fellow student who worked at the company. He moved to his current organization as the result of work he had done with the manager of Operational Requirements Analysis on B-2 MITL studies. They had been in the same department at the time and he applied directly to the manager for the transfer.
"The primary factors in my selection of a job in a military defense firm were my interest in supporting national defense, the application of game theory to analysis, the people I met working in the industry, and the money," recalls David. "There are many things I enjoy about my job. I have the ability to be very creative in attacking the design and development of new ideas and systems. I am exposed to, and work with, creative scientists and engineers throughout the country. I have worked a system from initial design to final field testing of a prototype system; there are few things that compare to seeing your paper design come to life as an actual working system."
"My best advice to someone seeking a career in the defense industry" says David, " is to develop their analytical skills over a broad range of problems." He recommends a background that includes modeling courses, probability and statistics, and applied mathematics. Beyond that he encourages students to work on writing, oral communications and presentation, and computer programming. He also urges them to seek out opportunities to participate in internships or summer work programs in industry. Once on the job, he notes it is important to be able to work as part of a team. "This means being willing to state your analysis or idea, accept constructive criticism, and integrate other engineers' good ideas into your work," says David. "And lastly, never be afraid to tackle a bigger problem than you think you can handle, but always seek the advice of senior engineers and scientists - they have usually handled a similar problem."
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