By Ann Roosevelt
Prime contractor Boeing‘s [BA] contracts for Army Brigade Combat Team Modernization (BCTM) are unaffected by the Army’s recent realignment of systems away from the Program Executive Office Integration (PEO-I), a company official said.
“Our Brigade Combat Team Modernization System Development and Demonstration contract and our low-rate initial production contract are unaffected by the Army’s realignment plan,” Matthew Billingsley, a Boeing spokesman, said. “We will continue to work closely with PEO-Integration on executing our production contract for the first brigade set of BCTM Increment 1 capabilities and supporting PEO-Integration on executing the 2010 BCTM testing plan, which will culminate in a Limited User Test later this year.”
A May 13 Defense Department announcement said the Army Acquisition Executive plans to transition management responsibilities for system development and acquisition from PEO-I to the PEOs that already manage similar systems.
“The key is that the Army still desires an integrated set of brigade capabilities and as part of the modernization strategy, will continue to focus on fielding capability packages,” Paul Mehney, director for Public Communications for PEO I, told Defense Daily. “PEO I, as opposed to managing individual systems, will now provide system of systems engineering, integration and test expertise to support the capability packages concept.”
PEO I will continue to support test and evaluation and engineering for Increments 1 and 2 and the ongoing work at White Sands Missile Range, N.M. will remain part of the organizations role.
The mission for PEO I now is focused on capability packages and making sure the limited user test for the first capability package is operated in a functional operational environment and the equipment works–or the Army won’t buy it, Mehney said.
The Army “remains committed to integrated development of brigade capabilities,” the DoD announcement said.
Prime contractor Boeing will stay in place for Increment 1 through Initial Operational Test and Evaluation and through the system development and demonstration of Increment 2.
Equipment technical tests start in the next couple of weeks at White Sands, Mehney said. The PEO recently took receipt of the most recent software build that will be incorporated into the Network Integration Kit at White Sands.
Importantly, PEO I is in the process of passing off its first contract to the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command for the initial engineering design integration of the Network Integration Kit (NIK) into the Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected All Terrain Vehicle (M-ATV) and the Maxxpro MRAP. This will be done for a few vehicles for test and evaluation and to see if the form and fit is correct before other vehicles could be put under contract.
Oshkosh [OSK] produces the M-ATV; Navistar Defense LLC, an affiliate of Navistar International Corp. [NAV], produces the Maxxpro.
Additionally, industry partners are pulling low-rate initial production plans together to start work.
The Increment 1 and 2 system program managers and support teams will be moved within 90 days from PEO I. The systems will be the Network Integration Kit (NIK), which will go to PEO Command, Control and Communications Tactical (PEO C3T). The Honeywell [HON] Class I Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), currently managed separately, will move to PEO Aviation. The iRobot [IRBT] Small Unmanned Ground Vehicle (SUGV) and Multi-mission UGV move to PEO Ground Combat Systems (PEO GCS). Additionally, the Ground Combat Vehicle (GCV) will be moved within 60 days to the PEO GCV. The Textron [TXT] Unattended Ground Sensors (UGS) shift to PEO Intelligence, Electronic Warfare & Sensors (PEO IEWS).
The realignment came as the House Armed Services Committee this week began work its version of the FY ’11 Defense Authorization Bill. There are a series of proposed amendments, including to restore some funding for the Army’s Early Infantry Brigade Combat Team (EIBCT) effort that the Air and Land Forces subcommittee proposed cutting (Defense Daily, May 18).
The realignment Capability Portfolio Review process resulted in the cancellation of the Non-Line-of-Sight Launch System (NLOS-LS), developed by Raytheon [RTN] and Lockheed Martin [LMT] in a joint venture, announced at the same time.
The realignment allows systems to be holistically managed, a better business case, Mehney said, and reviewed as part of their respective portfolios, not as individual piece parts.
Additionally, PEO I will have an expanded mission for integration across the PEOs and their associated portfolios. Thus, PEO I will ensure that all unmanned aerial systems are fully integrated into the network, rather than just integrating the Class 1 UAS into the network.
The Capability Portfolio Review process has been under way since late February and will last a year. The process conducts a service-wide all components revalidation of requirements for all Army acquisition process. It examines existing requirements and recommends termination for redundant and outdated requirements. The reviews focuses on eight areas: tactical wheeled vehicles, precision fires, air and missile defense, radios and network, aviation, engineer mobility, combat vehicle modernization and intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR).
The recommendations assist the Army Secretary to set future priorities with the goal of an effective, affordable and modern Army with funds that are properly programmed, budgeted and executed.