|
There is a spring in FCS supremo, General Charles Cartwright’s step. FCS has gone from concept to reality with a feel in the air that systems will soon start to roll off the line.
In previous AUSA FCS Briefs General Cartwright had to intermingle his briefs with videos of specific items such as the APS, when the questioning got difficult! It was not helped by the supporting slides and Power Points with strange Egyptian-style hieroglyphics which confused the audience even more.
But now, General Cartwright has product to discuss and demonstrate ably assisted by General Dan Zinini of SAIC and Dennis Muilenberg’s replacement Gregg Martin. Dennis has been promoted to President Support Systems at Boeing IDS.
At the AUSA briefing, General Cartwright confirmed that in January, the Army accelerated test schedules for two FCS robotic prototypes based on current readiness levels and positive feedback from soldiers who are using early versions of the systems in Iraq and Afghanistan.
In January 25 FCS Small Unmanned Ground Vehicle (SUGV) units, developed jointly with iRobot Corporation and 11 Class I (Block 0) Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) developed jointly with Honeywell will be delivered in increments to Army Evaluation Task Force soldiers at Fort Bliss, Texas. The soldiers will train with the equipment before conducting user testing in the summer. Deliveries will occur between January and June 2008 with testing expected to conclude in September. Based on soldier feedback, a recommendation will be made to senior Army leadership whether to field the platforms or continue with system development under the core FCS program.
"The acceleration of the SUGV and Class I (Block 0) UAV prototypes and testing underscores the Army's commitment to enhancing soldier survivability and mission effectiveness by getting the capabilities into their hands as soon as possible," Gregg Martin said. "The decision to accelerate, driven in part by feedback from soldiers in theater, also confirms that we are on the right track to deliver a crucial capability that is needed and desired by our soldiers currently serving in combat operations."
The 30-pound SUGV is a small, lightweight, soldier-portable unmanned ground vehicle that is capable of conducting military operations in high-risk environments, including urban terrain, tunnels, sewers and caves, without exposing soldiers directly to potential hazards. The Class I (Block 0) UAV, a platoon-level asset and the smaller of the two FCS unmanned vehicle classes, will provide dismounted soldiers with unprecedented reconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition capabilities on the battlefield. The Class I UAV can operate in complex urban and jungle terrains with vertical takeoff, hover and landing capability, and can be operated autonomously or controlled by dismounted soldiers.
Another development outlined by General Cartwright was the installation of a camera on the SUGV to enable a digital picture to be sent anywhere on the battlefield giving crucial information as to who is in the building and what equipment they have, this forms part of Spinout 2.
In October the Micro UAV is slated to be deployed to Iraq. as is the SUGV. The next stage will be to add the SRW to the waveband suite to enable the bandwidth required to pass large packets of data. A new ‘X-Box-type’ controller will enable EO/IR images to be passed through a video goggle. This system is also being developed for ITT advanced NVGs and the DRS TWS.
ITT is currently developing an enhanced NVG system, ENVG. The company was selected after a competitive process as the sole provider of ENVG in 2005. Developmental and operational testing were completed in the summer of 2007, and the product is currently in low-rate production. The system combines an IR camera with a third generation image tube, which is interchangeable at the flick of a switch depending on light intensity. The ENVG contract has a potential estimated value of $560M during the contract life.
The next development is the ENVG-Digital, which aims to provide a fully digital system which can pass targets over the Internet by 2011.
Although they will occur in parallel, acceleration activities are considered separate from "Spin Out 1," the first of three planned infusions of FCS capabilities to the Current Force. Spin Out 1 consists of equipment and technologies that will provide enhanced situational awareness and communication capabilities through technology insertions to Abrams battle tanks, Bradley fighting vehicles and HMMWV vehicles. Spin Out 1 elements include network
integration "B" kits consisting of an Integrated Computer System,
System-of-Systems Common Operating Environment, Battle Command and Network Management software and communications system including the Joint Tactical Radio System Ground Mobile Radio. Also included are Tactical and Urban Unattended Ground Sensors to provide real-time threat information in complex terrain and the Non-Line-of-Sight Launch System for remotely controlled precision fires. Deliveries of Spin Out 1 equipment and technologies are well under way in preparation for field testing later this year.
Another crucial development outlined by General Cartwright was that 17 million lines of software code had been developed and FCS was moving to the next stage of incorporating commercial software systems into FCS using the Boeing Huntingdon Beach laboratory. Adobe had recently won a contract to supply systems for FCS. 68 tests of hardware and software have taken place.
The 2007 Initial Software Experimentation was a success with Software Builds 1& 2 completed on time and on schedule.
Other Spin Out 1 milestones have been achieved with the NLOS-C role out with the hybrid drive system undergoing active testing. The robotic convoy testing has been carried out. Six prototypes of NLOS-C will be in build on June 18th. The plan is to mount three NLOS-C vehicles per C-17.
The problems regarding the NLOS-LS system, previously Netfires are being ironed out with problems of degrading circuit boards being addressed. Nine shots have been completed with 15 planned in the next 15 months
On February 27th, during AUSA, Lockheed Martin announced that the Multifunction Utility/Logistics and Equipment (MULE) vehicle program successfully completed its System Preliminary Design Review (PDR), signaling a new phase in the program’s development as part of the FCS modernization initiative. As a result of this recent review, Lockheed Martin will now begin to transition from the concept maturation phase into detailed design work. “The completion of the
“MULE PDR moves us one step closer to putting this incredible vehicle in the hands of the Soldiers,” said Rick Edwards, vice president of Tactical Missiles at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. “The entire team demonstrated great tenacity and an incredible systems integration mindset in reaching this key milestone.” The review was conducted by a team from the FCS program office, the Army Training and Doctrine Command and the lead systems integrator partners Boeing and Science Applications International Corporation. The briefing was jointly presented by Lockheed Martin and a number of partner companies that are contributing equipment, such as radios and sensors, to the MULE.”
The JEFX Spiral 3 developments are continuing apace at Fort Bliss with the FCS Field Development Test & Evaluation team now numbering 972 soldiers.
“This is a crucial phase of system development,” Dan Zinini told the audience. “We have to see how these systems behave under field conditions. The best way is to give them to a soldier who will find a way to break it and better ways to manage under fire and in combat conditions.”
In addition the development of the WNW and SRW waveforms onto FBCB2 systems mounted in Abrams, Bradley, Stryker and LAV vehicles is continuing apace. The aim is to develop the software to a level where it can provide real-time data to the FBCB2 screens, enabling the computers to pass on the data to the network. This development concerns Current Force systems outside FCS.
What General Cartwright and his team emphasised on a number of occasions was that FCS only forms 35% of the Army’s total, thus stories of the imminent demise of FCS are exaggerated. Last year, Boeing and the DoD were considering a name change for FCS as due to these spin-outs FCS technology is reaching into the whole Army.
The GAO issued a statement about FCS on March 7th.
The substantial technical challenges, the Army's acquisition strategy, and the cost of the program are among the reasons why the program is recognized as needing special oversight and review.
Section 211 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2006 requires GAO to report annually on the FCS program. This report includes an examination of (1) how the definition, development, and demonstration of FCS capabilities are proceeding, particularly in light of the go/no-go decision scheduled for 2009; (2) the Army's plans for making production commitments for FCS and any risks related to the completion of development; and (3) the estimated costs for developing and producing FCS.
The progress made during the year by the FCS program, in terms of knowledge gained, is commensurate with a program in early development. Yet, the knowledge demonstrated thus far is well short of a program halfway through its development schedule and its budget. This portends additional cost increases and delays as FCS begins what is traditionally the most expensive and problematic phase of development. Thus, FCS's demonstrated performance, as well as the reasonableness of its remaining resources, will be paramount at the 2009 milestone review for the FCS program. In the key areas of defining and developing FCS capabilities, requirements definition and preliminary designs are proceeding but not yet complete; critical technologies are immature; complementary programs are not yet synchronized; and the remaining acquisition strategy is very ambitious.
Beginning in 2008, the Army plans to make a series of commitments to produce FCS-related systems in advance of the low-rate production decision for the FCS core program in 2013. In general, production commitments are planned before key information is available. In 2008 and 2009, the Army plans to begin funding production of the first of three planned spin outs of FCS technologies to current forces. However, its commitment to the first spin out may be made before testing is complete. Also starting in 2008, the Army intends to commit to production of early versions of the Non-Line-of-Sight Cannon. This commitment is being made to respond to congressional direction to field the cannon. FCS technologies, network, and designs are not yet mature enough for production, and thus the cannons produced will not be deployable without significant modifications. Advance procurement funding for the first full suite of FCS systems will begin in fiscal year 2011, the budget for which will be presented to Congress in February 2010--less than a year after the milestone review and before the stability of the FCS design is assessed at the critical design review.
In addition, the Army plans to commit to using Boeing, its lead system integrator, for the early production of FCS systems through the initial production phase of the FCS system of systems. By the time of the production decision in 2013, $39bn will have already been invested in FCS, with another $8bn requested. Thus, while demonstration of the FCS's capability falls late in the schedule, commitments to production are likely to come early--an untenable situation for decision makers. The Army's $160.9bn cost estimate for the FCS program is largely the same as last year's but yields less content as the number of FCS systems has since been reduced from 18 to 14.
There is not a firm foundation of knowledge for a confident cost estimate. Also, two independent cost assessments are significantly higher than the Army's estimate. However, the Army maintains that it will further reduce FCS content to stay within its development cost ceiling. Should the higher cost estimates prove correct, it seems unlikely that the Army could reduce FCS content enough to stay within the current funding constraints while still delivering a capability that meets requirements.
We have discussed the final FCS Program structure in BATTLESPACE many times, and our readers know that few Programs survive intact from cradle to grave, with some such as Crusader and Comanche being cancelled in entirety.
The doom mongers predict the total demise of FCS, but with these Spin Outs performing well across the whole Army and giving the Army new and unheard of technical advantages, a full-blown cancellation is unlikely. The most likely scenario being the continued development of Spin Outs into the whole Army, with the new FCS vehicle Programs being cut back or delayed. Once the software is developed and the network in place, then the next stage can begin.
U.S. Air Force-led Joint Expeditionary Force Experiment 2008
On May 19th Boeing and SAIC announced that FCS played a pivotal role in the U.S. Air Force-led Joint Expeditionary Force Experiment 2008 (JEFX 08), marking an important step toward integrating critical FCS technologies into the current force.
JEFX, conducted biennially in select lab and field environments at U.S. military facilities across the United States, is a multinational, multi-service military experiment intended to accelerate the research, development and fielding of new combat systems. The experiment, divided into four separate events, or "spirals," culminated in April with a field demonstration designed to test full joint connectivity and situational awareness in an operational setting. FCS represented the Army's main effort in JEFX 08, forming the ground component of JEFX by enabling near real-time threat data to be made available on the network and enabling shared situational awareness between ground and air assets. The joint exercise provided one of the first opportunities to test the functionality and applicability of FCS technologies designed for the first "spin out" of capabilities to the current force in 2008. It also tested the maturity of network systems in a realistic environment.
"JEFX 08 provided an assessment that informs the FCS program of accomplishments and issues in mitigating both program and technical risk," said Craig Brown, FCS
LSI experiment lead for Boeing. "All experiment objectives were successfully met
or exceeded, FCS system and network maturity were validated, and we were able to
demonstrate the tremendous leap in capabilities that FCS will provide compared with the current force."
One of the greatest FCS successes was shared situational awareness and the ability to call for joint network fires to engage a target that FCS sensors acquired in real- and near real-time, spanning the joint and coalition tactical, operational and strategic operating picture. The FCS JEFX 08 initiative, which focused on improving network integration -- terrestrial, air and space -- and joint interoperability, builds on previous FCS JEFX initiatives in 2004 and 2006. In JEFX 04, FCS participated with one piece of technology -- the System of Systems Common Operating Environment (SOSCOE). FCS expanded its participation significantly in JEFX 06, by using surrogate command and control vehicles equipped with SOSCOE, battle command software, prototype Unattended Ground Sensors, and pre-engineering development model Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) radios to conduct terrestrial network integration and interoperability experimentation. In JEFX 08, FCS deployed its most mature SOSCOE and Battle Command software to date, more mature JTRS radios and early prototype Warfighter Information Network-Tactical radios, and utilized FCS prototype hardware and complementary systems to demonstrate improved network integration, assured connectivity and joint and coalition interoperability among other capabilities.
Page | 1 | 2 |
3 |
4 | 5
| 6 | Next
| Previous
Page |
