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Oshkosh M-ATV
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EFP protection kits; Field service; M-ATV maintenance issues? (Aug 13/10)

“The Government plans to acquire an MRAP All-Terrain Vehicle (M-ATV). The M-ATV is a lighter, off-road, and more maneuverable vehicle that incorporates current MRAP level [bullet and mine blast] protection. The M-ATV will require effectiveness in an off-road mission profile. The vehicle will include EFP (Explosively Formed Projectile land mine) and RPG protection (integral or removable kit). The M-ATV will maximize both protection levels and off-road mobility & maneuverability attributes, and must balance the effects of size and weight while attempting to achieve the stated requirements.”
  —US government FedBizOpps, November 2008

Oshkosh Defense’s M-ATV candidate secured a long-denied MRAP win, and the firm continues to remain ahead of production targets. The initial plan expected to spend up to $3.3 billion to order 5,244 M-ATVs for the US Army (2,598), Marine Corps (1,565), Special Operations Command (643), US Air Force (280) and the Navy (65), plus 93 test vehicles. FY 2010 budgets and purchases have pushed this total even higher, and orders now stand at over 8,000…

• MRAP ATV: Requirements and Contenders
• M-ATV Variants
• Contracts and Key Events [updated]
• Additional Readings
  
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BCTM B-Kit in Hummer
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Boeing touts improvements – but is BTCM-1 really ready yet? (Aug 12/10)

Concerns about cost overruns, vehicle design, and contract structure prompted the Pentagon to cancel the US Army’s Future Combat System (FCS) program in June 2009.

Instead of a single FCS contract, the Pentagon directed the Army to set up a number of separate programs to undertake parts of the FCS program. One of those programs is the Brigade Combat Team Modernization (BCTM) Increment 1. The BCTM Increment 1 capabilities – which include ground robots, UAVs, ground sensors, and vehicle (B-Kit) network integration kits – are planned to be fielded to up to 9 Infantry Brigade Combat Teams beginning in 2011.

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ER/MP, armed
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$38.5M support contract, as use ramps up. (May 25/10)

In August 2005, “Team Warrior” leader General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. in San Diego, CA won a $214.4 million cost-plus-incentive-fee contract for research, development, test and evaluation (RDT&E) of the Extended Range/ Multi Purpose Unmanned Aerial Vehicle System (ER/MP UAS).

The Sky Warrior ER/MP program is part of the US Army’s reinvestment of dollars from the canceled RAH-66 Comanche helicopter program, and directly supports the Army’s Aviation Modernization Plan. ER/MP could be a $1 billion effort, and recently strengthened its position when a 2007 program restructuring cut the Future Combat Systems Class III UAV competition. Now, in FY 2010, the MQ-1C “Gray Eagle” prepares to move into low-rate production, following tentative resolution of the first big “Key West” battle of the 21st century between the USAF and US Army.

• The MQ-1C Sky Warrior, and its Band of Brothers
• The Army’s Sky Warrior Program
• ER/MP UAS – Enter the Warrior: Contracts & Key Events [updated]
• Appendix A: US Army et. al. vs. USAF Over UAVs
• Appendix B: Additional Readings – Who Controls the UAVs? [updated]
• Appendix C: Additional Readings [updated]
  
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• NATO chief urges missile defense system against rogue states, calls on Russia to join. Reuters | Bloomberg | Haaretz

• UK MoD gives go ahead for full production of the 5th Astute Class nuclear-powered fast attack submarines, early material & equipment buys for #6.

• Two if by sea: Honeywell lights LAMPS for US Navy.

• DynCorp to maintain Royal Saudi helicopter fleet under US Army contract worth up to $43.1 million.

• SAIC snags $26 million order to provide IT to Walter Reed Army hospital.

• The Heritage Foundation calls on Congress for 1 day to walk to work, skip lunch, turn off Blackberries, and debate by candlelight, all to simulate an EMP attack. Like that’s going to happen (without another snowstorm).

• Pentagon revamps Afghan deployment strategy so US troops can develop regional expertise; Canada confirms Afghan troop withdrawal in 2011.

• USMC contract to Israel Military Industries for their Foot-Mobile Assault Bridge. For a better understanding of why that matters in Afghanistan, and the challenges faced by the USMC in theater, see below:

Much better on pavement
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One complaint heard about the 8×8 wheeled Stryker armored vehicles in Afghanistan was that they had difficulties with the rough, mountainous off-road terrain. The Canadian forces in particular found that their Strykers’ mobility limitations created unacceptable difficulties.

Another complaint about Stryker vehicles is that upgrades designed to address combat needs have been done in a piecemeal fashion. This has resulted in significant inefficiencies, including having to turn off some systems to operate others.

To address Stryker vehicle limitations and overcome the piecemeal approach to vehicle improvements, the US Army TACOM Lifecycle Management Command has undertaken a Stryker modernization program…

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Fort Lewis’ 3rd Brigade
on the move
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The US Army is planning to spend $589 million on new construction to accommodate the conversion of existing brigade combat teams (BCTs) to modern BCTs at Forts Wainwright, Carson, Bragg, and Lewis.

US Army Corps of Engineers Seattle District is already moving ahead with construction at Fort Lewis in Pierce and Thurston Counties, Washington, awarding a $26.9 milion firm-fixed-price contract to M.A. Mortenson Co. in Minneapolis, MN. The contract was issued under a maximum $450 million multiple award task order contract (MATOC) for company operations facilities in the US Northwest and Southwest (W912HN-08-D-0021).

This is a design/build project for company operations facilities supporting the BCT complex increments 3 and 4 at Fort Lewis…

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Base infrastructure contracts are a quietly substantial portion of defense spending in any country, including the USA. Which is why DID covers them on a semi-regular basis, and notes trends in key areas, even though this coverage are only a fraction of the contracts issued. A December 2007 announcement by the US Army has significant implications for base infrastructure projects at a number of locations, however, as the push to grow the US Army by 74,200 troops and 6 brigade combat teams (BCTs)/ 8 support brigades continues, and so does partial relocation of US troops deployed abroad. A June 2009 announcement cut the number of new BCTs in half to 3, and will affect construction and stationing on 3 important Army bases.

The following lists offer updated breakdowns of the associated relocations and new unit stand-ups, first by timeline, and second by location:

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On Sept. 22, 2006, a ceremony marked the launch of U.S. Army Sustainment Command at Rock Island Arsenal, IL, under US Army Materiel Command. It will be commanded by Maj. Gen. Jerome Johnson, who said at the ceremony that “Our mission is clear-cut and crucial: improve Soldier support at the tactical level… rapid research solutions, quicker acquisition and faster delivery to the battlefield…. sustaining, maintaining and accounting for materiel, freeing Soldiers to fight with better equipment to protect them and be more lethal to our enemies.”

ASC will continue the missions of the former Army Field Support Command (AFSC), including Army Prepositioned Stocks management, administration of the Logistics Civil Augmentation Program and the Logistics Assistance Program. Key emerging ASC missions include Reset synchronization (see DID coverage of RESET and related programs), distribution and materiel management services, contingency contracting and training equipment management. Seven deployable Army Field Support Brigades (AFSBs) are assigned to the ASC in strategic locations around the world including Iraq, Kuwait, Korea, and Europe as well as in the U.S. at Forts Bragg, Lewis and Hood. See full story at ARMY.MIL; the US Air Force also launched a dedicated sustainment command recently.

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Technical innovation is present in all militaries, but America’s combination of do-it-yourself types, large defense budgets, and a gadget-happy national character makes it particularly fertile ground. Now add a global war and its challenges, plus a defense sector with a strong small business component made up of ex-military types. The overall innovation transmission belt may not be as tight or as effective as Israel’s or Singapore’s, but the scale of the US defense establishment more than compensates in terms of the sheer number produced.

Adoption, of course, is another matter. One way to improve it is to raise the profile of sucessful innovations through awards. Along those lines, the US Army recently recognized some special innovators by naming its “Top 10 inventions of 2005,” a list that should be of interest to many militaries around the world.

It includes…

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The US Army is preparing its FY 2008 – 2013 program objective memorandum (POM), due Aug. 15 to the Office of the Secretary of Defense. Inside Defense reports that the Army is considering a number of possibilities, as the April 2006 fiscal guidance handed down by Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England directed the Army to eliminate $25 billion across the POM including a total of $17 billion from its FY-12 and FY-13 budgets. Cutting the Army by a division, canceling the Future Combat Systems program, and other options are on the table. Inside Defense reports.

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