By Ann Roosevelt
The Army’s program for the next generation airborne intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance platform is preparing for the release of the Request for Proposals (RFP), according to a service official.
“As PM [program manager] I have to focus on KPPs [key performance parameters] and deliver them,” Col. Rob Carpenter, project manager Aerial Common Sensors (ACS) at Ft. Monmouth, N.J., told Defense Daily at the recent Association of the United States Army Aviation Symposium in Virginia.
In 2006, an earlier $879 million ACS development program with Lockheed Martin [LMT] was terminated and the Army went back to relook the program (Defense Daily, Sept. 5, 2006). Issues arose over the size of the payload versus the size of the aircraft expected to carry it.
The program itself began back around 2000 to support the Army’s Future Combat System as well as combining the payloads allowing the phasing out the aging C4ISR platforms Guardrail and Airborne Reconnaissance Low, a Ft. Monmouth spokesman said. However, with program termination, upgrades to the aircraft are being made.
Right now, ACS is in the pre-Milestone B phase, as the Milestone B documents are being redone, Carpenter said.
At the same time, technology development is being done to reduce risk and incorporate lessons learned from current operations to be further ahead when the program is being restarted.
In March, senior Army officials approved development of ACS with an acquisition strategy including block requirements to take advantage of payloads as technology matures.
The requirements document was refined at Ft. Huachuca and at the Army’s Training and Doctrine command and is now at the Department of the Army level.
The Capabilities Development Document must also be approved by the Joint Requirements Oversight Council.
At the same time, Carpenter said, the Army is working out its acquisition strategy through Milestone B, expected in Fiscal Year 2009. The ACS program is expected to restart in the first or second quarter of FY ’09.
The RFP is expected in late summer 2008, he said.
Carpenter said his office is working to meet and ensure that desires and required capabilities meet available resources.
Thus, trade studies are being done now as well as examining the possibilities of a 70 percent to 80 percent solution now, versus waiting for the 100 percent solution.
Northrop Grumman [NOC] this month announced it has put together a team to compete for the program (Defense Daily, Jan. 10). Lockheed Martin is mulling over entering the competition (Defense Daily, Jan. 14).