THE BIG T
T
he Army has long operated under the assumption of superiority in air and space operations. Troops on the ground could focus on the ground fight, because of the superiority of our air and missile defense systems.
Tat assumption is challenged by the escalation of great power competition and the rapid advancement in aviation and missile technology.
Te rapid increase in complexity has made it difficult for fielded radar systems to counter threats. Te Lower-Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensor (LTAMDS) is a radar intended to improve the air and missile defense battlespace, providing networked sensing and a greater ability to search, track and discriminate targets. Te radar will act as the eyes and ears of the Army Integrated Air and Missile Defense, providing data for a network of launch- ers to intercept threats.
Detecting threats from a greater range increases the ability to intercept more complicated threats. So compelling is the need for this capability that Congress required its development. Te National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018 mandated an initial operating capability of a 360-degree radar by December 31, 2023. Raytheon was selected to build six proto- type radars to support an urgent materiel release.
Traditional acquisition programs do not support the devel- opment of a system in such a compressed period. Te urgent materiel release is necessary to address the Congressional identi- fication of gaps between our current capability and the emerging threats. Congress also authorized alternative, rapid-acquisition pathways to provide warfighters with the latest technology to counter emerging threats.
Rapid-prototyping authority under the mid-tier acquisition path- way allows the program to move fast to deliver capability. In addition to providing a needed capability, the new radar will replace the legacy Patriot radar, a fielded system that has served the Army since 1981. Te legacy Patriot AN/MPQ-65A system
is used to defend against ballistic and cruise missiles, manned and unmanned aircraft, and emerging future threats in the lower atmosphere portion of the air-and-missile defense battlespace— the lower tier. Tis system has served the military well, but the Patriot radar is starting to show its age.
APPLES BECOME ORANGES In addition to its limitations in capability, the operations and sustainment costs for this dated technology are growing. Produc- tion, fielding, and sustainment of a modern radar must not be delayed. Tese activities are not included in rapid prototyping, and that means that the program must transition into a Mile- stone C decision under the major-capability acquisition pathway. Defense Acquisition University defines a traditional major-capa- bility acquisition, as one that is “used to acquire and modernize military unique programs” that follows a structured process.
In February, the radar’s acquisition strategy received approval from the Army acquisition executive to transition from a mid- tier acquisition to a major-capability acquisition program. Te acquisition strategy addresses the need to deliver a capability through rapid prototyping and field a system to replace the legacy radar system.
In the Army acquisition process, milestone decision reviews exist for an acquisition program to graduate from concept to prototyp- ing, testing and ultimately to production. Te milestone-decision reviews require significant amounts of documentation to support the milestone reviewer that grants the program permission to proceed. In a traditional major-capability acquisition program, data is gathered through each phase and milestone to mature supporting documentation. Tis process normally takes years, and by the time a system is fielded to the warfighter, it may already be technologically obsolete. Tis process, however, is necessary to ensure a program is mature before going into full-rate produc- tion and fielded to the operational force.
The mid-tier acquisition pathway that allows a program to move quickly does not require the completion of previous milestones.
78 Army AL&T Magazine Summer 2022
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