Joint Strike Fighter - Term Paper Example

Most systems share common characteristics that include; maintenance of an internal steady state, presence of inputs, processing, output and feedback mechanisms, display emergent properties that are peculiar to the whole, and have boundaries defined by the system observer. Systems do not operate in a vacuum; they comprise of smaller units called subsystems. The subsystems interconnected, transfer knowledge from a system to the next. A system can only operate within its boundaries (Blanchard, Benjamin & Wolter 5).

The system observer defines the boundaries, and outside these boundaries lies the environment (Blanchard, Benjamin, and Wolter 5). The Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program is a growth and acquisition plan intended to restore a wide array of existing strike, fighter and land attacks for the United States and her allies. The main competitors for the program were Lockheed Martin X-35 and Boeing X-32 of which the former; Lockheed X-35’s prototype won the tender. The firm came up with the F-35 Lighting II to replace various tactical planes such as the Canadian CF-18, British Harrier GR7 and the US F-16.

 The X-35 portrayed the most persuasive demonstration by taking off in less than 150 meters. . After data collection and conversion into appropriate medium for input, its processing follows; manipulation into information using input procedures. Output marks the end of the data processing function of the system. It communicates the information derived from the processing function to the recipient users or another data processing function. System control is vital in all data processing systems (Blanchard, Benjamin & Wolter 8).

System controls refer to a gadget or set of systems that direct, command or regulate the workings of a system. The elements of control include a feedback mechanism that offers descriptive and comprehensive information on the input, output and processing aspects of the system. Feedback describes a check within a system that ensures the overall achievement of system goals. It denotes a situation when the output from a past process influences the recurrence of the same result in the present or future process.

Feedback mechanism performs controls through a loopback. Positive and negative feedback mechanisms are the two broad divisions of feedback mechanism.  A positive going wave on the output amplifies the input signal resulting in the same output production. Contrastingly, a signal inversion occurs leading to a negative going change in the output. Interfaces are areas of intersection or interactions of different systems that exchange information or energy. The final element of a system is the environment.

This is that area outside a system. A system can interact either with its environment or with not (Blanchard, Benjamin, and Walter 13). Based on their interaction with the surroundings, systems are either open or closed systems. An open