The INSIDER - July 24, 2012

Radio Report. The latest news on JTRS: Pentagon's Top Tester: JTRS Manpack Radio 'Not Operationally Effective' The Defense Department's chief weapons tester has found that the Joint Tactical Radio System's two-channel Manpack radio is "not operationally effective," according to an internal Pentagon memo obtained by InsideDefense.com. The finding is based on a Multi-service Operational Test and Evaluation (MOT&E) conducted during the Army's spring Network Integration Evaluation at White Sands Missile Range, NM, and Ft. Bliss, TX. "JTRS HMS Manpack radio is not operationally effective," Michael Gilmore, DOD's director of operational test and evaluation, wrote in the July 20 memo to Frank Kendall, the Pentagon's acquisition chief. "This assessment is based upon the radio's performance when running the Single Channel Ground Airborne Radio Systems (SINCGARS) waveform." Important to add: General Dynamics today defended its product, claiming to have addressed the gaps Gilmore identified. Much more in the full story, and in the memo itself . . . DOCUMENT ALERT: DOT&E Assessment Of The JTRS HMS Manpack Radio In a July 20, 2012, memo, Pentagon Operational Test and Evaluation Director Michael Gilmore finds the Joint Tactical Radio System Handheld, Manpack, Small Form Fit radio "not operationally effective." Gilmore also finds the Joint Enterprise Network Manager (JENM) to be "operationally suitable." Related news: JTRS Office Seeks Non-Developmental Radios For Army's Aviation Fleet The Joint Tactical Radio System program office is surveying industry for software-defined radios that can be used on the Army's helicopter fleet, according to a request for information released last week. The soon-to-be disbanded program office, run through the Navy's Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command, is interested in systems that are already in production, those developed by industry under independent research and development efforts, or systems stemming from approved, government-funded programs of record, a July 18 notice on the Federal Business Opportunities website reads. Industry: Transition Of MIDS-JTRS To Navy Shouldn't Slow Program It is business as usual for the Multifunctional Information Distribution System portion of the Joint Tactical Radio System program, even as the Defense Department disbands the program office, according to an industry official. Network News. Inside the Army on WIN-T: Army Talks Alternatives As WIN-T Funding Shift Appears More Unlikely The Army isn't holding out much hope that lawmakers will allow the reprogramming of $334 million from the Warfighter Information Network-Tactical program to pay war-related expenses, leading the service to begin a search for alternatives, according to a service official close to the issue. "As of now, we're looking at coming up with a list of programs that might have to take the place of the $334 million WIN-T request," the official said. "Either [the Office of the Secretary of Defense] shuffles the funding around defense-wide within the approved omnibus [reprogramming] after we get it back to cover the $334 million, or the Army shuffles its money around to cover the $334 million." Which Army programs might be at risk to take WIN-T's place as potential bill-payers remains unclear. "It's just that it hurts us in two ways," the official said. "We'll have to find funding from somewhere else, and we're going to have to buy more [WIN-T systems] than we want." And: Army Makes Plans To Buy Network Gear Immediately After Fall 2013 NIE For several months industry officials have privately criticized the Army for being too slow to procure network gear proven to be capable during the service's highly praised Network Integration Evaluation. But Brig. Gen. Daniel Hughes, who is charged with synchronizing the service's network modernization strategy, said last week that, starting with the fall 2013 NIE testing event known as 14.1, the service would take steps to accelerate its contracting processes to more easily procure equipment. "Starting in NIE 14.1, we're going to build a request for proposals early on for very specific items that exist in industry that we can get, so we can procure immediately following the NIE," he said in a July 19 interview after the conclusion of an NIE industry day in Aberdeen, MD. "We're getting better at identifying what we need earlier in the process and we're also trying to find venues for contracting quicker." Bird Watching. Inside the Navy on the V-22: Official: V-22 Operates Off Carrier, Performs Simulated CASEVAC On SSBN The V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft has been conducting resupply missions aboard aircraft carriers and recently performed a simulated casualty evacuation mission with a ballistic missile submarine, demonstrating some of the ways the aircraft could be used when the Navy buys its variants, the program's manager told Inside the Navy last week. The Navy has not yet purchased any V-22s of its own or even decided what they will do with them, although the program of record calls for the service to buy 48 HV-22s, along with 50 Air Force CV-22 purchases and 360 MV-22s for the Marines. The most likely scenario would have the V-22 replacing the C-2 carrier on-board delivery (COD) aircraft, a role that the aircraft has already demonstrated in recent missions in the Persian Gulf, Col. Greg Masiello, V-22 program manager, said in a July 19 phone interview. "This week, the V-22 is operating off the [aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman (CVN-75)]," Masiello said. "Two weeks ago, in the Persian Gulf, the V-22 acted essentially in a normal supply or resupply mode the Navy might use flying from one boat to another off the [aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72)], carrying cargo and passengers in between ships." On the Water. More from Inside the Navy: As Seabasing Ramps Up, ONR Seeks Ways To Make It Easier For Sailors Naval researchers are pushing forward a portfolio of projects to allow for more effective at-sea transfer of cargo while underway, which may prove increasingly important as the military shifts its focus to the vast Pacific Ocean and several seabasing-related platforms join the fleet in the coming years. The Large Vessel Interface Lift-on/Lift-off crane system, which senses and compensates for the relative movement of two ships during cargo transfer, was the first in what has turned into a line of seabasing projects in the Future Naval Capabilities program office at the Office of Naval Research, Paul Hess, ONR program officer for ship systems and engineering research, told Inside the Navy in a July 16 interview. Navy Asks For $67 Million To Deploy Carrier Stennis Four Months Early The Navy is asking Congress for permission to reprogram $67 million to deploy the aircraft carrier John C. Stennis (CVN-74) and the cruiser Mobile Bay (CG-53) four months early and send them to the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, the Pentagon announced last week after making the reprogramming request in June. The move continues a two-carrier presence in CENTCOM, a standing requirement, the Navy said. The Eisenhower (CVN-69) carrier strike group replaced the Lincoln (CVN-72) CSG last week, but the Enterprise (CVN-65) was due to leave later this year with no replacement. Partners. The Defense Business Board's latest has some serious implications: Defense Advisory Panel Calls For Expanded Use Of Public-Private Collaborations The Defense Department should expand and encourage the use of "public-private collaborations" by establishing policies that facilitate partnerships between senior leaders and private-sector entities -- formal mechanisms to allow the Pentagon to leverage the resources and expertise of outside groups in support of a given mission, according to the Defense Business Board. The board set up its task force in response to a request from Adm. James Winnefeld, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to explore how to "fully exploit" the benefits of such collaborations, which were called for by the 2010 National Security Strategy. "Public-Private Collaborations will add both resources and options to assist the Department of Defense in addressing new, leading edge, hard and soft power challenges not yet identified or conceived," states the task group briefing presented to the Defense Business Board on July 19. DOCUMENT ALERT: Draft DBB Briefing Slides On 'Public-Private Collaborations' In a July 19, 2012, briefing, the Defense Business Board recommends that the Pentagon expand and encourage the use of "public-private collaborations" by establishing policies that facilitate partnerships between senior leaders and private-sector entities. Includes a draft copy of the briefing slides as well as the December 2011 terms of reference that established the DBB task force. Scouting. An Army aviation update: DOD Wants Army To Decide Way Ahead For Armed Scout By Year's End The Defense Department wants the Army to reach a decision on whether to build a new Armed Aerial Scout helicopter or extend the life if its aging Kiowa Warrior fleet by the end of the year, according to a previously undisclosed acquisition decision memorandum. Pentagon acquisition chief Frank Kendall earlier this year issued an ADM directing that "not later than the end of 1st quarter [fiscal year] 2013, in time to inform the [FY-14] budget, the Department of the Army shall plan to return to the Joint Requirements Oversight Council and the Defense Acquisition Board with the results of the updated technical, schedule, cost, and affordability analysis activities and recommend requirements, materiel solution options, and a business case for the recommended option." Kendall authorized the Army to use up to $8.7 million for analysis activities that would aid in the decision-making process, the ADM says. The analysis effort includes flight demonstrations and the collection of data through responses to a request for information that was released on April 25. While the timing might seem tight, the end-of-year deadline laid out in the ADM is feasible, according to an industry official following the program. Main Event. Another upcoming conference of note, this one on cyber issues: Cyber Resilience For National Security Defining the Future of the Internet for Measured Security in a Rapidly Advancing Environment Event Date: 12-14 Sep 2012 Location: Sheraton Pentagon City Hotel, Arlington, VA, USA From the conference description: This event will focus on the latest prioritization efforts within the DoD’s cyber security efforts, while bringing together government and industry leaders to discuss the most challenging threats to national cyber security in both the public and private sector. Our latest cyber-related coverage, from last week: JROC Approval Of New Cyberspace Concept Could Come This Summer The Joint Requirements Oversight Council is about a month away from approving a new concept for military cyberspace operations in the next decade that could steer major decisions on doctrine and resources, according to the Joint Staff. -- Dan Dupont