Maximizing Commercial Off-the-Shelf (COTS) Technology in Army Acquisition: The Impact of Army-Unique Require- ments on Program Executive Office Combat Support and Combat Service Support's Ability to Field 'Best Value' COTS in the Future

摘要

For Program Executive Office for Combat Support and Combat Service Support (PEO CS&CSS), technology planning means something quite different than the technology planning and development conducted within other PEO organizations. Those organizations are typically developing military-unique requirements with limited commercial applications. For PEO CS&CSS, equipping the Soldier means leveraging commercial technology. With limited Army Science and Technology (S&T) efforts or Army Cross Functional Teams (CFT) aligned directly with the PEO CS&CSS portfolio, and the majority of its new programs entering at Milestone C, acquisition strategies rely heavily on Industry research and technology development to procure the best value materiel solution for the Army. That is why the PEO CS&CSS Vision is: "We are the Army's Acquisition experts for Commercial and Non-Developmental Items-rapidly delivering capabilities that reduce Soldier exposure, optimize manpower, and enable sustained mobility, lethality, and the network." Systems using Commercial off the Shelf (COTS) components and technology means that PEO CS&CSS' focus shifts from design to integration. The procurement of COTS components and technology allows PEO CS&CSS to procure and field the best and latest technology, paid for by Industry Research and Development (R&D), faster and at a lower cost to the Warfighter. This is critical as the Army aligns its S&T and program dollars to Army priority efforts and away from the combat support and combat service support portfolio. Commercial requirements, not Army requirements, are driving COTS technology advancements. Therefore, Army requirements for militarization or commonality may require costly military upgrades to COTS technology. Further, some of the Army requirements force PEO CS&CSS away from COTS altogether, requiring development programs for systems that have otherwise acceptable COTS solutions. As the pace of Industry technology continues to outrun Army requirements development, budget planning, and acquisition timelines, PEO CS&CSS must remain aware of the risk of Industry technology divergence from Army requirements. This paper examines specific technology focus areas that put the Army on a clear path of divergence from COTS in the future, adding cost and schedule to future programs and limit our ability to take advantage of COTS technology improvements. PEO CS&CSS and CCDC GVSC, in partnership with Industry partners, are working to ensure the next generation of power generation sets and tactical wheeled vehicle systems maximize the usage of COTS, are compatible with Industry Standards, are supportable, and have growth potential to meet the needs of our Soldiers. Increasing regulations on emissions worldwide will impact commercial availability of high sulfur fuel / Jet Propulsion (JP)-8 compatible engines. It is recommended that the Army relook its regulation for JP-8 as the single fuel on the battlefield, in comparison to the potential cost of modifying COTS powertrains or procuring military unique engines in the next generation of tactical wheeled vehicles and power generation sets. The Army will realize additional performance with the ability to procure modern commercial powertrain technology, including improvements in power density, vehicle thermal management, and fuel efficiency. The Army should also consider operational requirements that may allow for vehicle electrification, hydrogen fuel cell technology and hybrid solutions for specific applications. Lastly, requirements best practices must be followed by the combat and materiel developer to ensure that the Army is able to take advantage of the latest in commercial technology at the lowest cost to provide the best value solution to meet Warfighter needs.