TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY APPROACH TO ACQUISITION
The change to the Army’s approach also fundamentally changed the interaction with government and industry.
have for developing the actual prototypes in the next phase of the process. Tese Soldiers interacted with the actual dimensions and capabilities proposed by the vendors, giving everyone at the table confidence in the feasibility of what each vendor proposed.”
With requirements that have now been identified as realistic, stable and feasible, the government is moving into the next phase of the OMFV program and intends to select up to three vendors from a full and open competition to create a detailed design for their OMFV proposal and build physical vehicle prototypes. Once those detailed designs are produced in the third quar- ter of fiscal year 2023, the Army will again provide feedback from both engineers and Soldiers from armored brigade combat teams. Te process will continue to fine-tune requirements before a contract is awarded to a single vendor to produce the vehicle. Te Army intends to field OMFVs to the first unit equipped in the 2029 fiscal year.
“Tis approach brings a stability of requirements to the process— nobody has to guess what the requirements will be,” said Burton. “It also allows the true end-user, our Soldiers, to have input early in the process rather than waiting until the end when it is too late or too expensive to change things.”
CONCLUSION While the OMFV may be one of the most high-profile programs currently using the mid-tier pathway in the Army it is far from the only one. Other projects using the mid-tier process include
another Next-Generation Combat Vehicle signature program, the Mobile Protected Firepower, as well as the Next Generation Squad Weapons and the Small Multipurpose Equipment Trans- port programs, among others. Other uniformed services have taken advantage of the mid-tier authority for multiple programs, ranging from communications and software to missiles and weapon systems, including the major upgrade of an Air Force fighter jet, the F-15EX.
“Te way that we are maturing our requirements on OMFV, collaborating with Soldiers, vendors, the acquisition commu- nity—it is transforming the way that we acquire combat vehicles. It allows us to not have to make decisions prematurely and ulti- mately will produce the best possible asset for our Soldiers on the battlefield,” Morgan said.
OMFV requirements-development represents a successful collaboration among AFC, ASA(ALT) and industry to improve confidence and credibility in requirements before soliciting for solutions. However, we are still early in the campaign, so this story is merely a spot report along the way. We understand that success for the Army is measured against delivery of an end prod- uct, not intentions or process. We also recognize that the diversity of Army modernization programs precludes any one-size-fits- all approach. However, through collaboration, experimentation and open dialogue we can change how the Army modernizes its acquisition processes and outcomes. We share this experience in that spirit.
For more information, go to
https://armyfuturescommand.com. SUCCESS STORY
While Soldier touch points principally allow the Army to validate and finalize requirements for a new system, they also have a side benefit, said Sgt. 1st Class Salem Auclair, a master gunner who works on the Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle project. Each of the dozen Soldiers who participated in the event returned to their platoons when the touch points concluded and told their peers what they had experienced.
DAN HEATON is the director of communications for the Next- Generation Combat Vehicles Cross-Functional Team. He joined the team in 2020 after a long career in journalism and as a public information officer for local government. He also serves as an enlisted public affairs specialist in the Michigan Air National Guard and is the author of three books on topics related to military history. He holds an M.S. in marketing from Walsh College.
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Army AL&T Magazine
Fall 2022
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