The Army’s Paladin Integrated Management (PIM) program risks deploying vehicles that do not meet performance requirements and could endanger crew members, according to an audit report from the Defense Department Inspector General (IG).
In a report released Aug. 5, the IG determined the Army was justified going ahead with the low-rate initial production of 133 Paladins, which includes tracked armored mobile howitzers and ammunition carriers. However, program managers have not nailed down a rate-of-fire requirement for the howitzers, which do not provide adequate fire protection for crew members.
The PIM program executive office pushed back on addressing the fire-suppression shortfall because the work could delay fielding, according to the report.
“Army Fires Center of Excellence, which developed PIM program operational requirements, and PIM program officials continued to address test community recommendations for deficiencies in the rate-of-fire requirement and the automatic fire extinguisher system (AFES),” the IG report says. “Army officials did not fully address two test community recommendations.”
LRIP included production of 33 test vehicles and 100 production-representative vehicles, the minimum necessary to maintain the production line and gradually increase production before full-rate production, according to the IG.
Program officials performed fixes to address nine specific performance deficiencies identified by test officials during the development phase. PIM program officials also updated test plans to evaluate vehicle performance before full-rate production.
The IG report faults the Army Fires Center of Excellence for not arriving at a conclusive rate-of-fire requirement for different firing conditions and for failing to fix deficiencies in the AFES in howitzer crew compartments.
“As a result, Army Fires Center of Excellence and PIM program officials risk deploying vehicles that do not meet performance requirements and that could endanger crews,” the report says. “Additionally, PIM program officials may incur costly vehicle retrofits to address the deficiency in the AFES if not adequately addressed before full-rate production.”
The report recommends the commander of the Fires Center of Excellence establish a clear rate-of-fire requirement and that the PIM program executive officer evaluate and fix problems with the fire extinguishers before deployment of the first vehicle “to minimize fire risk to soldiers and reduce retrofit costs,” the report says.
Maj. Gen. Brian J. McKiernan agreed with the first recommendation but the PIM PEO, through a deputy, disagreed with fixing the fire suppression system because it would delay fielding, according to the report.
“The Deputy stated that adding more AFES coverage to the crew compartment will delay fielding—risking soldier safety and decreasing Army capabilities,” the report said. “However, the Deputy did not support that incorporating additional AFES coverage would delay fielding the PIM program or how the delay would impact the mission, readiness, or cost. … Without addressing the AFES deficiency, the Army could deploy vehicles that endanger crews.”
The IG asked that the PEO fix the AFES problems before deploying any of the vehicles and provide and action plan with completion dates.
The report is the first in a series of reports on the Army PIM program, which includes ammunition carriers and projectile-firing armored vehicles, called howitzers, for use in ground combat. During full-rate production, the Army will complete PIM vehicle production.