By Scott R. Gourley

The Army is undertaking dynamic event demonstrations on nearly two dozen wheeled vehicle platforms at the U.S. Army Aberdeen Test Center in Maryland. Known as the platform systems demonstration (PSD), the event is one key element within the Army’s tactical wheeled vehicle (TWV) strategy.

As outlined by the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2006, the Army is implementing a revised tactical wheeled vehicle modernization and recapitalization strategy to replace its existing tactical wheeled vehicles with a new next-generation vehicle class or more capable recapitalized tactical wheeled vehicles.

The TWV strategy is designed to balance three competing factors: achieving Army modularity requirements; supporting current operations and fleets; and transforming TWVs to attain future fleet capabilities. The strategy is based on the needs of a modular Army and joint combatant commanders’ sustainment needs, as well as the needs of units whose equipment must be reset.

Recapitalization of current vehicle fleets, including the incorporation of critical platform upgrades, is one aspect of TWV modernization. Army planners note that not only are the existing military vehicles rebuilt and returned to service with “zero miles/zero hours,” they also receive new technology that significantly improves their performance in areas like safety, survivability and reliability.

Many of these new technologies are being identified through something called EMIP—the expedited modernization initiative procedure. EMIP is described as a continuous process that will improve the current and future TWV fleets by identifying and leveraging the defense industry’s capital investments in advanced technologies. EMIP allows identification of advanced technologies, pending adequate funding and priority, for insertion as quickly as possible into current vehicles while also identifying possible future capabilities. Through events like the annual truck technology demonstrations, held in January at Yuma Proving Ground, Ariz., the Army gains insight into the capabilities offered.

Another way to leverage such technologies is through advanced concept technology demonstrations (ACTDs), as in the Army’s ACTD for future tactical truck systems (FTTS). The FTTS ACTD is a two-phase approach to researching advanced capabilities for the future tactical wheeled vehicle fleet. The first phase involved modeling and simulation (M&S) efforts in which multiple vendors presented concepts for technologies to be incorporated into integrated vehicle designs for both a utility variant (UV) and a maneuver sustainment variant (MSV) of a notional future tactical truck system. The second phase, now ongoing, includes awards made to three of the M&S contractors to manufacture prototype designs: two contractors (International and Lockheed Martin) will produce their versions of a UV with trailer; one contractor (Stewart & Stevenson) will produce two MSVs with companion trailers.

All of the FTTS prototypes will be evaluated in a military utility assessment to be held at Fort Lewis, Wash., from October 2006 through February 2007. Its results will assist in the development of Army requirements documents for future tactical wheeled vehicles.

Another critical element in the Army’s TWV strategy is the platform systems demonstration. As part of a continuous assessment of new technologies within the commercial sector, the Army describes PSD as “an open invitation to all automotive vendors, foreign and domestic, to demonstrate new vehicle designs that potentially resolve approved capability gaps.” The PSD differs from truck technology demonstrations in that the emphasis here is on complete vehicles rather than individual vehicle technologies. As identified in an early government sources sought solicitation, PSD “involves demonstrating alternate TWV solutions with the purpose of considering available complete integrated vehicle solutions relative to the Army’s needs.”

Emphasizing that PSD is an education effort that supports requirements generation and not source selection, planners identify desired capabilities in the areas of improved driver and crew protection (from direct fire, mines or improvised explosive devices); improved vehicle safety (fire suppression, roll-over prevention); improved weapons mounting provisions; improved integration, space and power for command, control, communications and computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems; improved maintainability, reliability and fuel efficiency as compared to current systems; improved load handling capabilities; improved transportability by cargo aircraft; and sufficient payload and mobility while armored and fully loaded.

The PSD effort is being run by U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command with the assistance and support of the Program Executive Office Combat Support & Combat Service Support; the Project Manager for Future Tactical Systems (Provisional); the Research, Development & Engineering Command; and the Army Test and Evaluation Command.

Based on industry responses to the government solicitation, more than 20 contractors have received invitations to provide specific demonstrations at the PSD. Those vehicle platforms were scheduled to arrive at Aberdeen Test Center/Aberdeen Proving Ground August 7-11, 2006, for static display the following week, and dynamic event demonstrations August 18-31.

“The information obtained from these demonstrations will be used to make the Army [improve] requirements and specification writers,” noted one program overview.

Another element in the Army’s TWV fleet modernization strategy involves coordination between the Army, the U.S. Marine Corps and the U.S. Special Operations Command to develop a family of joint light tactical vehicles (JLTV). According to at least one program participant, the goal of JLTV is “to overcome the limitations of the current Humvee.”

In late April 2006, a joint Army-Marine Corps three-star board endorsed establishment of a Joint Program Office to manage the JLTV effort. Future plans for the event-driven JLTV program timeline will reportedly reflect results from the future tactical truck systems advanced concept technology demonstrations, the platform system demonstration, the expedited modernization initiative procedure and various Office of Naval Research Science and Technology activities.