ACQUISITION AT SPEED
TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY APPROACH TO ACQUISITION DRIVES FIGHTING VEHICLE PROCESS
The Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle digital concept design provides a new paradigm for combat -vehicle development.
by Dan Heaton T
he challenges associated with the processes for establishing stable and achievable requirements in support of past ground combat vehicle acquisition programs are widely documented. Yet, within a process long influenced by administrative compliance and highly localized experience, effective solutions to persistent Army requirements challenges have remained elusive.
Te Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle (OMFV), an initial description for the Army’s next generation infantry fighting vehicle, provided Army Futures Command (AFC), the assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition, logistics, and technology (ASA(ALT)), Army Contracting Command and industry an opportunity to explore a new 21st century approach.
Te OMFV digital concept design provides a case study for how the Army can change the way requirements are defined, refined and stabilized in support of acquiring new, complex ground-combat weapon systems. In a departure from previous practices, the Army strategy included early formal collaboration with industry to inform and assess requirement feasibility, suitability and acceptability before soliciting for prototypes, robust analysis to gauge the effectiveness of capabilities and Soldier touch points that allowed the ultimate end user an opportunity to influence the design of the vehicle early in the development process.
Te goal is to produce an infantry fighting vehicle that exploits industry innovation and modern design tools today to both address infantry fighting vehicle modernization needs now, and permit upgrading or integrating future new technologies quickly and econom- ically to it into formations as soon as possible.
REQUIREMENTS AND OTHER FANTASIES In past programs, Army requirements developers produced a very detailed list of specifications that companies would use to develop their proposal. Tis left little to no room for innovation or refinement as technologies or threats changed over time. In too many cases, requirements would call for implementing new, evolving technology, only to find that technology was not quite ready for use in the field.
In other cases, a proprietary technology procured during the development of the initial vehicle configuration limited the Army’s ability to adapt to new technologies or operational needs years and multiple iterations later. And finally, opportunities to exploit industry innovation and new approaches were missed simply because there was no approved requirement. Te system depended
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