COMPETITION MEETS COLLABORATION
infantry fighter a battlefield capability that our mechanized and armored forces have enjoyed for years.
Te wireless connection provides improved situational awareness and increases Soldiers’ lethality and surviv- ability by enabling them to aim and shoot at an enemy without having to transition from maneuver optics (ENVG) to target acquisition optics (FWS-I). Te system software and wireless communication allow Soldiers to scan the environment and accurately engage the enemy without shouldering the weapon or using a laser pointing device, which can compromise a Soldier’s position during the critical moments in an engagement when shots are first fired. Te passive targeting capa- bility, known as rapid target acquisition (RTA),
functions when the ENVG III
and FWS-I are wirelessly paired with one another but not when these systems are used alone.
ESTABLISHED SYSTEMS, NEW APPROACH Development of this new RTA technol- ogy and increased capability required
“We have found, sometimes the hard way, that it is far better to work out interoper- ability and system integration problems early in the acquisition process. Tat is the path we are taking,” said Timothy Goddette, deputy program executive officer in the Program Executive Office (PEO) for Soldier.
Goddette’s comment echoes a prominent subtheme of acquisition reform. Both the House and Senate versions of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017, in different ways, call for greater interoperability in a variety of contexts within and between the services. Te two chambers are now reconciling the differences between their two ver- sions of the bill to arrive at compromise legislation.
management of the programmatic risks and potential complications that often arise as technologies are integrated into something new. Termal sensors, which were first fielded to infantry Soldiers in 1998 with the AN/PAS-13, have signifi- cant tactical advantages compared with standard light-intensification night vision technology, as they sense heat generated by personnel and equipment and can detect targets through smoke, dust, fog and other obscurants. Night vision tech- nology has been in the Army inventory even longer than the AN/PAS-13, going back to the first passive starlight scopes fielded in the 1960s. Te first ENVG, which fused thermal and light intensifica- tion technology, was introduced in 2007.
Te FWS-I now uses a wireless link to combine these technologies and make them even more lethal with the addition of RTA.
To reduce programmatic risk, PM SMS decided to bring two vendors on to the program not only for
the engineering
and manufacturing development (EMD) effort but throughout the life of the pro- gram. PM SMS, which is assigned to PEO Soldier’s project manager for Soldier sen- sors and lasers (PM SSL), has used this approach in past programs during the production phase to introduce price com- petition and to ensure sustained system deliveries should one vendor experience problems manufacturing these highly technical, difficult-to-produce electro- optic systems.
SEAMLESS PAIR
RTA technology functions when ENVG III and FWS-I pair wirelessly, and enables Soldiers to quickly locate and engage targets from any location without shouldering their weapon. PM SMS worked with BAE Systems and DRS Technologies to make sure that components created by one company paired seamlessly with those made by the other. (Image courtesy of PEO Soldier)
“Interoperability provides greater flex- ibility to the Army as well as increased opportunity to the industrial base,” said Fuller. “Cross-vendor interoperability provides the RTA capability to the Army while allowing the vendors opportunities to win awards on the FWS-I or ENVG III.” In other words, vendors are no
78
Army AL&T Magazine
October-December 2016
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