The Air Force is targeting BAE Systems’ Advanced Precision Kill Weapons System (APWKS) among a handful of programs for its new “Should Schedule” acquisition experiment that is based on its “Should Cost” program.
Air Force Secretary Deborah James last week announced the Should Schedule program, which is focused on improving delivery times as opposed to costs. Should Schedule, she said, will feature a competitive engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) portion that rewards and incentivizes speed to ramp. Defense Department officials often decry how the traditional acquisition cycle takes too long to get products into the field.
James said established programs will have a EMD phase based on historical data, like usual, but if an industry partner can propose a solution that credibly offers a way to accelerate successful EMD, then that company would have a competitive advantage for the award. James said the Air Force would not use Should Schedule to sole source programs.
In addition to APKWS, the Air Force is targeting three other programs, though a key officer said these are not the only ones being considered: the Bomber Armament Tester (BAT), the MS-177 electro-optical sensor and the Enhanced GPS/INS Modernization program. Air Force Assistant Secretary for Acquisition, Military Deputy, Lt. Gen. Arnold Bunch said Thursday eventually every program will be evaluated for Should Schedule.
At an Air Force Association (AFA) breakfast in Arlington, Va., Bunch said these four programs were selected because they are “lower dollar threshold programs” and ones are just getting ready to get started. Bunch said Should Schedule will use an independent group to examine schedules, as opposed to the traditional acquisition process that bases acquisition timelines on how previous programs have succeeded or failed.
The Air Force, Bunch said, wants a BAT that it can use across the B-2, B-1 and B-52 fleet so it has a smaller logistics footprint when it deploys. It would also allow the service to train on one single test set, he said, and would reduce the size of the supply chain, sparing the Air Force of the burden of worrying how many different people are building the parts to keep this program going. This would reduce costs, Bunch said.
Bunch said Lynda Rutledge will be implementing Should Schedule. Rutledge has been the program executive officer (PEO) and director for the Agile Combat Support Directorate within Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC) since March. Bunch said Rutledge approached smaller programs like trainers and components with an emphasis on shortening timelines while instilling more transparent dialogues with industry. Her approach, he said, has reduced time from request for proposals (RFP) to contract from just under a year to less than six months with fewer protests.
BAE is offering APKWS to the Air Force after having been awarded multiple full-rate production (FRP) contracts from the Navy (Defense Daily, Jan. 15). BAE Precision Guidance Solutions Director Dave Harrold said Thursday via a spokesman that the company is pleased to hear the Air Force is considering APKWS for this initiative and looks forward to future discussions about its potential acquisition. The Air Force did not return a request for comment by press time Thursday.
Lexington Institute think tank COO Loren Thompson told Defense Daily Thursday though Should Schedule is an awkward sounding title, it’s a real smart idea. Thompson said he believed the JSTARS recapitalization program would be the first large program the Air Force would apply Should Schedule.
“There is no reason why it should take the Air Force a decade to replace 16 or 17 radar planes, especially when they are using off-the-shelf aircraft,” Thompson said.
Industry would be supportive of Should Schedule, Thompson said, largely because the increased acquisition speed could help companies make more money. But certain companies could also frown upon Should Schedule if they feel it would diminish their chances of winning a competition.