Acquisition missteps are delaying the fielding of the U.S. Air Force Three-Dimensional Expeditionary Long-Range Radar (3DELRR), a program that began in 2009 and that the Air Force designated a Middle Tier of Acquisition (MTA) rapid prototyping effort in December, 2019, according to a new Pentagon Inspector General (IG) audit.
3DELRR is to be a long-range, ground-based aerial targets radar, and the Air Force had planned to field 35 of the radars by fiscal 2028.
“The Air Force did not effectively use the MTA pathway for prototyping and fielding the 3DELRR system,” the DoD IG said in the Aug. 24 audit. “Specifically, the 3DELRR program office did not complete the exit criteria during the MTA rapid prototyping path before the program transitioned to the MTA rapid fielding path or plan to complete fielding all 35 systems within 5 years of the MTA rapid fielding path start date as required by DoD Instruction 5000.80.”
“This occurred because the Air Force’s interpretation of funding guidance was incorrect,” the audit said. “Air Force officials stated that they believed the initial production units could not be purchased in the rapid prototyping path using procurement funding. However, the DoD Financial Management Regulation authorizes the use of procurement funding. This misinterpretation led the 3DELRR program office to transition almost 3 years early to the rapid fielding path to use procurement funding. As a result, the 3DELRR program office planned to transition the 3DELRR program into a major capability acquisition early because it may not complete the rapid fielding path within the 5-year time limit. Additionally, this early transition may extend the time to develop needed capabilities that would benefit the warfighter.”
Last March, the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center digital directorate’s Theater Battle Control Division at Hanscom AFB, Mass., picked the Lockheed Martin AN/TPY-4(V) long-range radar to move into production to replace the Air Force’s TPS-75 radar under the 3DELRR rapid prototyping program–termed SpeedDealer (Defense Daily, March 11, 2022).
In 2021, Lockheed Martin beat out Northrop Grumman [NOC] and Australia-based CEA Technologies to receive an $8.4 million integration contract under SpeedDealer–a contract that included options for the 35 radars.
Air Force Gen. Mark Kelly, the head of Air Combat Command, said in March last year that U.S. adversaries “have invested a lot to out-sense and out-connect us in a robust EMS [electromagnetic spectrum] environment” and that, while legacy U.S. sensors, including the TPS-75, have performed well, “they have voted with their sustainment that their time is limited.”
The new DoD IG audit said that the 3DELRR program office “did not plan to complete fielding all 35 systems within 5 years of the MTA rapid fielding path start date as required by DoD Instruction 5000.80.”
The program “transitioned into the rapid fielding path in April 2022 before procuring any radar systems,” according to the audit.
Between 2009 and 2017, “the Air Force spent $360.5 million to develop critical technology elements, reduce technical risk, produce competitive prototypes, and refine requirements for the 3DELRR,” the audit said. “However, the program encountered significant delays due to bid protests. Following resolution of the bid protests, the Air Force awarded a contract in May 2017 for the engineering and manufacturing development phase of the 3DELRR major defense acquisition program.”
“The contractor experienced numerous technical and supplier challenges during the development of the radar that extended the schedule,” according to the DoD IG. “The 3DELRR program manager proposed to re-baseline the program in August 2019, which would have added 3 years to the schedule. After receiving the re-baseline briefing, the SAF/AQ [Air Force acquisition office] directed the 3DELRR program office to conduct market research into viable alternatives. During November 2019, the 3DELRR program office briefed the results of its market research that identified advancements in technology had occurred since the program began and would allow other alternatives to meet the capability faster.”
“The Air Force subsequently concluded the contract for the engineering and manufacturing development phase of the 3DELRR major defense acquisition program in March 2020,” the audit said. “According to Air Force officials, none of the previously developed technology for the 3DELRR program was used, and the program transitioned to an MTA rapid prototyping program based on the other available alternatives.”
Norway signed a contract last November to buy up to 11 TPY-4 radars, and Lockheed Martin has said that there are other potential international and domestic buyers, including NORAD for North Warning System radars to replace the Lockheed Martin FPS-117 (Defense Daily, Dec. 1, 2022). Lockheed Martin has said that Norway’s Kongsberg is a key part of TPY-4, as Kongsberg builds the radar’s Platform Electronics Sub System.