By Ann Roosevelt
Boeing [BA] yesterday announced the successful completion of the Critical Design Review (CDR) of Early-Infantry Brigade Combat Team (E-IBCT) capabilities, another key milestone in Army modernization efforts.
Boeing and SAIC [SAI] are the prime contractor for the development and fielding of the E-IBCT effort, which is also known as Increment 1. The review was conducted Oct. 14-15 at program headquarters in St. Louis.
“Completing the Critical Design Review is an important step toward the Milestone C decision in December so we can enter low-rate initial production early in 2010,” Derek McLuckey, Boeing Increment 1 program manager, said in a statement. “Our goal is to get these capabilities into the hands of America’s soldiers as soon as possible.”
As another step on the way to the Milestone C review, a production readiness review will be held Oct. 28-29 in Huntington Beach, Calif., Matthew Billingsley, a Boeing spokesman, told Defense Daily.
The review will also be informed by an Operational Materiel Assessment Report produced by the Army Test and Evaluation Command after an extensive analysis of a Limited User Test held this summer (Defense Daily, Sept. 4, Oct. 16).
The CDR reviewed more than 120 criteria to ensure that system designs are mature, meet soldier requirements and are ready for low-rate initial production. Reviewed capabilities included unmanned ground and air vehicles, sensors, precision launch systems and network integration kits.
The review involved representatives from the Army, Boeing, SAIC, industry partners and other government agencies, including the Defense Department and the Government Accountability Office.
E-IBCT capabilities are to be fielded to seven IBCTs beginning in 2011.
The Army plans additional increments as part of its modernization strategy.
The E-IBCT capabilities, developed by Boeing and SAIC under the Future Combat Systems (FCS) program, are now a key element of the Army Brigade Combat Team Modernization effort to improve soldiers’ intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities, as well as increased survivability and lethality.
Initial capabilities include: iRobot‘s [IRBT] Small Unmanned Ground Vehicle; Honeywell‘s [HON] Class I Unmanned Air Vehicle ; Textron’s [TXT] Unattended Ground Sensors; and the NetFires LLC Non-Line-of-Sight Launch System, an unmanned missile system capable of extended range targeting and precision attack. NetFires is a joint venture of Raytheon [RTN] and Lockheed Martin [LMT]. The Increment I also includes the Network Integration Kit: an integrated computer system that hosts the latest communications and radio systems and battle command software, providing the initial network connectivity needed to transfer sensor and communication data.