By Ann Roosevelt
The Army Feb. 4 said it decided to continue low-rate initial production (LRIP) of two elements of the Early-Infantry Brigade Combat Team (E-IBCT) program–the iRobot (IRBT) Small Unmanned Ground Vehicle (SUGV) and the tactical network system.
“E-IBCT will be concluded as a program of record at the end of Low Rate Initial Production but there is still program work to be done including continued low-rate production of the NIK and SUGV, and training, fielding and sustainment of these systems,” said Paul Mehney, chief, Public Communications, Army Program Executive Office Integration.
“This decision is consistent with the Army’s iterative acquisition model and it enables us to continue development of the tactical network.”
The ability to network soldiers and their equipment is a top priority for senior Army leaders.
The E-IBCT investment of network technologies and software provide a foundation for growth of the Army’s tactical network, the service said in a Defense Department release.
Essentially, the service will procure two more brigade sets of two more SUGV brigade sets through LRIP, Mehney said. Any follow-on contractual obligations will be dealt with by the robotic systems Joint Product Office.
As to the Network Integration Kit (NIK), the “B” kit of computer, and other equipment for vehicles, one additional set of NIK vehicles are authorized to be produced for up to two total NIK brigade sets. There are no plans for continued procurement after that.
Additionally, of the Army’s proposed saving $29 billion over five years, part of the $100 billion in savings in the search for efficiencies mandated by Defense Secretary Robert Gates, some will be used to “accelerate fielding to the soldier level of the Army’s new tactical communications network,” Gates said in his speech (Defense Daily, Jan. 7).
The Army will transition the procurement of small unmanned ground vehicles and tactical network systems to program executive offices with primary responsibility for these systems.
No longer will the service pursue the unattended ground sensors, under development by Textron [TXT], or the Honeywell [HON] Unmanned Air System elements of the program.
The decisions were formalized by an E-IBCT Acquisition Decision Memorandum (ADM), signed Feb. 3 by Ashton Carter, under secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics.
Mehney said, “E-IBCT investment provided the hardware and software infrastructure that enables the Army to grow the tactical network capability. This capability is integral to current and future combat environments.”
Most importantly, he said, “The E-IBCT program yielded valuable information from warfighter evaluations regarding what network capabilities soldiers need and how they will be used while operating in inter/intra connected combat formations on today’s asymmetric battlefield.”
E-IBCT investment spurred innovation, he said, providing industry opportunity to support the service’s emerging tactical network strategy.
Boeing [BA] is the prime contractor on the program with SAIC [SAI] and numerous subcontractors. Paul Geery, Boeing vice president and BCTM program manager, said: “Although the Army is having to make extremely difficult decisions based on significant budget pressures, we believe that this ADM continues to demonstrate the importance that the Army is placing on delivering integrated tactical network capabilities that soldiers need today in the conflicts that they are facing in places such as Afghanistan.”
The Army developed the E-IBCT program in an effort to accelerate fielding of key network and sensor capabilities to improve capabilities for the highly used infantry. The E- IBCT was derived from Future Combat System work to network soldiers, sensors and platforms. The manned ground vehicle portion of the program was canceled by Defense Secretary Robert Gates in April 2009 (Defense Daily, April 7, 2009). The program, to eventually enhance the capabilities of 15 heavy brigade combat teams, was reorganized to provide modernized and needed equipment to the Infantry Brigade Combat Teams (IBCT). This Early IBCT Increment 1 effort fell under the Army’s Brigade Combat Team Modernization (BCTM) effort.
An iterative series of tests by soldiers and independent testers led up to the Defense Acquisition Board meeting in December and the outcome codified this month.
The Feb. 3 decision now allows the Army to pursue an acquisition approach enabling the continued development of the tactical network.
“The Army remains committed to providing soldiers with the most effective equipment available,” the service said in its statement. “These standards require diligent and informed choices as systems are evaluated, tested and fielded in support of this goal. The decision to conclude the E-IBCT program and shift the remaining elements to other program offices carefully balances military utility, system performance, and affordability with the immediate needs of our warfighters.”