CHAMPION FOR TECHNOLOGY
forward. However, the final decision is made by the chief of staff of the Army and the Army acquisition executive.
What ultimately drives these decisions are the same realities that drive the rest of the Army—time, technology and resources. Most importantly, does it enhance the capability of the warfighter?
Sarantinos-Perrin: You’ve given ex amples of how RDECOM supports warfighters on the ground. How about Army aircraft?
+ WORKING ON THE HOVERBIKE
Wins learns about a prototype version of the Joint Tactical Aerial Resupply Vehicle (JTARV) from Sgt. 1st Class Daniel Guenther, an enlisted adviser at the U.S. Army Research Laboratory’s Weapons and Materials Research Directorate, during a visit to Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, in September 2016. Also known as the “hoverbike,” the JTARV may one day enable Soldiers on the battlefield to order and receive supplies rapidly from an autonomous unmanned aerial vehicle. (U.S. Army photo by Conrad Johnson)
Another exciting prototype is a collabora- tive effort between the U.S. Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center [TARDEC] and General Motors—the new Chevrolet Colorado ZH2 hydrogen fuel-cell vehi- cle. Te ZH2 is an off-road truck that was designed for the Army. Te truck’s hydrogen fuel can be produced from a variety of sources, including natural gas, and the vehicle does not produce any harmful emissions, only water. Te ZH2 is currently being evaluated at vari- ous military bases around the country and offers other benefits, including less heat and noise, which is helpful in situa- tions where stealth is required. TARDEC worked with industry early on in the pro- cess and helped inform requirements.
Sarantinos-Perrin: As the RDECOM commanding general, is it your call whether a particular technology goes
60 Army AL&T Magazine
forward? What goes into making such decisions?
Wins: Tis is a complicated question, because we work across different time horizons and support a wide variety of partners. I have the power to make deci- sions for any part of RDECOM, but I know it’s best to trust the experts—the folks in the RDECs and labs who work hard to develop the technology. Tey’re the best in the world.
Once we get a technology to the point where it can transition out of RDECOM to be used by someone else, the author- ity to accept that technology transitions as well. Te technology transitions, as your readers know, to program manag- ers and program executive officers whose goal is to make the technology a program of
record, which means funding has been approved so the program can move
Wins: One area most people don’t know about is the role our RDECs play in flight safety and airworthiness of our military aircraft. RDECOM’s Aviation and Missile Research, Development and Engineering Center inspects every Army aircraft for airworthiness. As part of maintaining aviation readiness in support of the Aviation and Missile Life Cycle Management Command, we are work- ing on the Advanced Treat Detection System, which will protect the aircraft as well as personnel in them. Tat’s a signifi- cant contribution to day-to-day readiness.
Looking more long-term, we can look at efforts in Degraded Visual Environ- ment [DVE] and Future Vertical Lift [FVL]. Te DVE effort combines several technologies to allow pilots to look into degraded environments such as storms or fog or obscurants and identify things like hidden structures, power lines, etc. Part of readiness is being able to operate in different environments, so DVE will make a significant readiness impact when it’s fielded.
Te FVL is expected to replace the Army’s current aviation fleet over the next 25 to 40 years. AMRDEC is leading the DOD science and technology part of the project, and is working with indus- try to design and build a joint multirole
October-December 2017
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