Editing Line-replaceable unit (section)

{{Short description|Modular component designed to be replaced quickly at an operating location}}
{{refimprove|date=February 2008}}

A '''line-replaceable unit''' ('''LRU'''<ref>[http://www.e-publishing.af.mil/shared/media/epubs/PUBS/AF/23/23011002/020203/020203.pdf]  {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090704180412/http://www.e-publishing.af.mil/shared/media/epubs/PUBS/AF/23/23011002/020203/020203.pdf|date=July 4, 2009}}</ref>), '''lower line-replaceable unit''' ('''LLRU'''),{{citation needed|date=August 2012}} '''line-replaceable component''' ('''LRC'''), or '''line-replaceable item''' ('''LRI''')<ref>[http://www.casa.gov.au/scripts/nc.dll?WCMS:PWA::pc=PC_93235#L Australian Government Civil Aviation Safety Authority, Aviation abbreviations and acronyms, Retrieved 11 July 2013]</ref> is a modular component of an [[airplane]],<ref>[http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1985aifo.reptX....L A comparative evaluation of the reliability improvement in line replaceable unit<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> [[ship]] or [[spacecraft]]<ref>[https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/4113049/;jsessionid=E294084DFFB5E3DDFB812A2192F5BC7A?arnumber=4113049 Welcome to IEEE Xplore 2.0: Line Replaceable Unit (LRU) Analysis in the Space Shuttle Orbiter Electrical Power System<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> (or any other manufactured device) that is designed to be replaced quickly at an operating location (1st line). The different lines (distances) are essential for logistics planning and operation. An LRU is usually a sealed unit such as a [[radio]] or other auxiliary equipment. LRUs are typically assigned logistics control numbers (LCNs) or work unit codes (WUCs) to manage [[logistics]] operations.

LRUs can improve maintenance operations, because they can be stocked and replaced quickly from distributed nearby on-site inventories (sometimes mobile storage), restoring the mobile systems to service, while the failed (unserviceable) LRU is undergoing complicated repair and overhaul actions in other support locations (lines).  Because of their modularity, LRUs also can contribute reducing system costs and increase quality, by centralizing development across different models of vehicles.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080526105910/http://stinet.dtic.mil/oai/oai?verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA201577 A Cost Trade-Off Analysis of F-16 Line Replaceable Unit (LRU) Packaging Options<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

LRUs are similar in nature to [[shop-replaceable unit|shop-replaceable units]] (SRUs), but rather than being component functions, represent complete functional units.