US Army set to phase down two weapon development programs

The Army decided to transition ERCA after DoD denied providing the service with a wavier to keep the program under the rapid prototyping umbrella,  the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said.

The Army plans to transition two weapon development programs — the Extended Range Cannon Artillery and Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensor — out of rapid prototyping efforts and into the major capability acquisition pathway now that work on both efforts is expected to exceed the five-year deadline, the Government Accountability Office disclosed today in its annual report on weapon systems.

The service embarked on both ERCA and LTAMDS development as part of its push to develop and field capabilities more rapidly than it is able to do under the traditional acquisition umbrella. However, to do so under that middle-tier acquisition (MTA) rapid prototyping pathway, the service only has a five-year window before moving ahead with rapid fielding or transitioning it out. Time is up for both programs, but instead of halting development, the Army wants to move forward on both via a traditional acquisition approach.

“We previously reported that ERCA planned to pursue a waiver to extend the effort beyond the 5-year (middle tier acquisition) MTA time frame established by DOD policy,” the GAO wrote. “However, according to Army officials, the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment denied the request.”

Army acquisition chief Doug Bush “subsequently determined that following the rapid prototyping effort, he would oversee the program’s progress as it completes the development, documentation, and operational testing required to transition to the major capability acquisition pathway, currently planned for the late fiscal year 2024,” the GAO added.

Cannon Falls Short On Acquisition Target

In its current state, the ERCA effort centres on an incremental upgrade of BAE Systems’ Paladin M109A7 self-propelled howitzer to include the addition of a 58-calibre, 30-foot gun tube so that the platform can launch 155 mm rounds over 40 miles. The weapon uses a “supercharged” propellant to fire current and future munitions, including the M982 Excalibur, XM1113 Rocket-Assisted Projectile, and XM1155 Extended-Range Artillery Projectile.

The GAO wrote that the Army was missing did not have all “elements of its business case” when it kicked off the program in 2018, a shortfall that led to the timing miscalculation. 

“While it has since made some progress, it still lacks a formal technology risk assessment and a cost estimate based on an independent assessment,” the GAO added. “Completing these elements earlier could have helped decision-makers identify whether the program was well positioned to deliver the planned capability within five years.”

Program officials now said that they are developing plans to conduct a formal technology risk assessment and working with analysts to develop a life-cycle cost estimate to inform the program, the government watchdog office wrote. 

When it comes to cost, the report notes that the ERCA program’s cost has risen by nearly $78 million, or 10 per cent, over the past year due, in part, to schedule changes. 

Due to delays, the Army now plans to complete the MTA effort by outfitting an artillery battalion with up to 18 ERCA prototypes and conducting an operational assessment in the late fiscal year 2023,” the GAO added. 

The Army Futures Command did not immediately respond to a request about how this move will play out, but the GAO timetable tracks with Bush’s disclosure early this year that development challenges would slow the program down. In an email to Breaking Defense in late March, an Army spokeswoman said the ERCA program experienced “technical challenges” during live fire testing, and the service is conducting additional testing to further characterize and understand those challenges.

“As we reassess the program plan and schedule over the next few months, efforts will continue across the Army to refine ERCA training, sustainment, operational doctrine and organizational plans for large scale combat operations,” she wrote. “Integrating a new cannon onto the M109A7 platform is difficult. Still, we are confident we will meet the Army requirement for a long-range self-propelled howitzer capability while also providing the capacity for future propellant and projectile advancements.”

For LTAMDS, Cascading Delays

Like ERCA, the GAO pointed out that the service plans to field six representative LTAMDS radar prototypes by the end of the MTA effort, but development speed bumps mean it will not simply move into a rapid fielding initiative. 

The Army “now expects to transition to the major capability acquisition pathway at production,” the GAO wrote. 

“Officials cited prototype delivery delays, which drove flight testing delays, as the cause for completing the MTA effort later than planned,” the GAO later added. “Specifically, program officials delayed the delivery of the second prototype due to integration problems with the first prototype. The later delivery delayed all three flight tests in addition to contractor verification, qualification, and ground testing.”

Service leaders signed off on this new acquisition strategy and earlier this year discussed “transition options.” The plan is now to move between the two designations in the first quarter of FY24.

Raytheon is currently producing the LTAMDS, one of the Army’s top 35 modernization priorities. The system is poised to replace the Patriot radar system.