By Ann Roosevelt
Boeing [BA] yesterday said in late November it began deliveries of Brigade Combat Team Modernization (BCTM) Increment 1 hardware to the Army, followed by the Army exercising an option for efforts associated with fielding the equipment.
BCTM delivery began Nov. 17, followed by a second delivery Nov. 22.
Two days later, Boeing was awarded a $36.7 million firm-fixed-price contract for test support and training, software, and fielding efforts for Early Infantry Brigade Combat Team (E-IBCT) low-rate initial production (LRIP) Set 1. This was an option under the LRIP contract the company received early in the year, a company spokesman said.
The hardware deliveries will continue through second quarter of 2011 and are part of the $138 million fixed-price contract issued Feb. 24 for LRIP production of the initial brigade set of BCTM Increment 1 capabilities (Defense Daily, Feb. 26).
Increment 1 hardware delivery included Network Integration Kit (NIK)-equipped Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles and Humvees, along with Unattended Ground Sensors (UGS) and Unmanned Ground Vehicles (SUGV).
The Nov. 17 delivery included one NIK-equipped Humvee, 1 NIK-equipped MRAP-All Terrain Vehicle (M-ATV), three tactical unattended ground sensors, and three SUGVs.
The Nov. 22 delivery included two NIK-equipped Humvees, seven NIK-equipped M-ATVs, two sets of tactical UGS, 1 SUGV, five sets on unattended ground sensors and five Class 1 Unmanned Aerial Vehicles.
Boeing as prime contractor, supported by SAIC [SAI], is responsible for the development and production of BCTM Increment 1. Low-rate initial production allows the capabilities to be fielded to the 3rd Brigade Combat Team of the 1st Armored Division for initial operational test and evaluation beginning in 2011.
The Army will conduct additional verification testing before the Initial Operational Test & Evaluation of the capabilities in 2011–the last evaluation of Increment 1 capabililties–and their subsequent production and deployment to Afghanistan in 2012.
“These [November] deliveries are the culmination of many years of design and field testing to improve this system’s reliability and usability for the nation’s warfighters,” said George Smith, Boeing BCTM Increment 1 Operations project manager.
The Army expects the BCTM Increment 1 capabilities to provide soldiers with improved intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, as well as increased survivability and lethality.
However, the capabilities expected to be included in Increment 1 will get an in-depth scrub at a Defense Acquisition Board review now slated for Dec. 22.
Currently, the capabilities include: the NIK, an integrated computer system hosting the latest communications and radio systems and battle command software and providing the initial network connectivity needed to transfer sensor and communication data. Also, improved capabilities include the iRobot [IRBT]-produced SUGV, a robotic system capable of reconnaissance missions in dangerous or difficult situations such as entering buildings, caves and tunnels, and the Honeywell [HON] Class I Unmanned Air Vehicle (UAV): a small, soldier-operated UAV that can hover for reconnaissance and surveillance while providing target acquisition. Also in Increment 1 are Textron‘s [TXT] UGS, multi-mode surveillance sensors for target detection, location and classification, with an imaging capability for identification.