The U.S. Air Force is to solicit proposals for common automatic test equipment to verify the functionality of weapon system components.
Air Force Materiel Command’s Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC) said that the future Automatic Test Systems Acquisition-I (ATSA-I) would be an “enterprise contract to support and sustain Automatic Test Systems (ATS) in the support of the Agile Combat Support (AFLCMC/WNA), Warner Robins Air Logistics Complex, Warner Robins, Georgia, for the ATS Division.”
The division is seeking industry comments by Feb. 12 on a final ATSA-I solicitation. Last year, the division said that it manages more than 45,000 items worth $3.5 billion and buys, modifies and repairs 200 systems and subsystems for all of the Air Force’s major weapons.
ATS are common, automated electronic test equipment to validate the functionality of Unit Under Test (UUT) assemblies, including Shop Replaceable Units (SRUs), Line Replaceable Units (LRUs), Shop Replaceable Assemblies (SRAs), Weapons Replaceable Assemblies (WRAs) circuit cards, aircraft “black boxes,” and “other removable components from weapons platforms or support systems,” AFLCMC said in a Feb. 7 business notice.
“An ATS Family consists of ATSs that are interoperable and have the capability to support a variety of weapon system test requirements through common and flexible hardware and software architectures that permit addition or expansion of testing capability with minimal impact to the ATS logistics support profile, system software and TPSs [Test Program Sets’ hardware and software],” AFMC said.
DoD has spent tens of billions of dollars on buying ATS. In 1994, DoD began moving away from SPOs’ ATS toward common ATS for weapons system testing, yet underfunding has been a challenge for common ATS.
In the past, system program offices (SPO) had handled the buys of such equipment for their specific weapons, for example, the F-15 SPO’s oversight of the Tactical Electronic Weapons System (TEWS) Intermediate Support System, while air logistics complexes typically have managed platform sustainment through testing line-replaceable units for airframe, engine, navigation, combat and pilot safety systems.
BAE Systems‘ Eagle Passive Active Warning and Survivability System (EPAWSS) is to replace TEWS. EPAWSS is to allow Boeing [BA] F-15Es and EXs to defeat electronic warfare systems used by China and Russia.