Description
The Weapon System
The Guardrail/Common Sensor (GR/CS) is a corps-level, fixed-wing
airborne signals intelligence (SIGINT) collection and target location
system. The GR/CS system supports corps, division, and joint land force
component commanders by detecting, identifying, exploiting, and
precisely locating threat communications, radars, and other electronic
emitters throughout the corps area of interest.
The mission of the Guardrail/Common Sensor is to provide signals
intercept and precision target location of threat communications and
non-communications electronic emitters.
Interoperable data links provide microwave connectivity between the
aircraft and the integrated processing facility (IPF). The GR/CS
provides near real-time SIGINT and targeting information to tactical
commanders throughout the corps area via the Joint Tactical Terminal.
The thrust of the Guardrail R-TOC initiative is to develop 1) a
long-term sustainment/modernization program based on a systems
perspective; and 2) implementation of performance-based agreements with
the user, contractors, PM, CECOM, depots, and DLA. Expected benefits
include: improved operational availability, reduced TOC, streamlined
acquisition and sustainment, rapid new technology insertion, faster
turnaround time for repairs, and greater visibility into failures and
rapid redesign. The Guardrail approach is planned as a prototype for
application to other low density, high demand (LD/HD) systems.
In October 2000, Guardrail was one of four R-TOC Pilot Programs
designated to experiment with performance agreements with users,
performance agreements with support providers, and program-specific
working capital funds. (The other three are Abrams Tank System, EA-6B
Prowler, and F-16 Fighting Falcon.)
Production Status, Population, and Planned Life
There are four Guardrail/Common Sensor systems fielded. One GR/CS system is authorized per aerial exploitation battalion in the military intelligence brigade at each corps. A standard system consists of six to twelve RC-12 aircraft that fly operational missions in sets of two or three. Ground processing is conducted in the integrated IPF. Current Guardrail capabilities will be merged with those of the Airborne Reconnaissance Low and evolve into the next generation airborne system, the Aerial Common Sensor (ACS) program, which will begin fielding in 2009 and complete fielding in 2016.
Prime contractor: Raytheon (Wichita, KS); TRW (Sunnyvale, CA); Systems and Electronics (St. Louis, MO); L3 Communications (Salt Lake City, UT); Lockheed Martin (Owego, NY)
Office of Primary Responsibility: Project Manager, Aerial Common Sensor (ACS)
R-TOC Focus Areas: (From USD (AT&L) memorandum dated May 10, 1999)
1. Reduced demand from weapon systems via reliability and maintainability improvements
- Development of operational availability
requirements for the GR/CS mission and ground equipment.
- Identify current and future sustainment costs, track these costs,
and develop a sustainment engineering program
- Developing reporting procedures for primary mission equipment and
ground station combat capability to mitigate obsolescence.
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Develop cost reduction initiatives and seek funding via COSSI, TOCR, RM&S, VECP, and other programs.
2. Reduced supply chain response times, leading to reduced spares,
system support footprint, and depot needs
- Integrated Product Teams (IPTs) will consider all sources of
funding and types of programs to reduce spares production.
3. Competitive sourcing of product support, leading to streamlining and
overhead reductions
- IPTs will reengineer the system to develop alternative sources of supply.
- Will consider replacement of multiple sustainment contracts with a
single CLS contract.
Performance-based Pilot Activities
Guardrail is one of four R-TOC Pilot Programs selected in October 2000
to experiment with:
- Establishment of formal performance agreements between the program
managers and their warfighter customers based on warfighter expectations
and mission availability, particularly for legacy systems.
- Use of program-specific formal agreements (or "contracts") with
organic providers based on output and availability.
- Use of a program-specific working capital fund to pool funding
sources and provide a robust financial base for the program managers to
fund product support providers to meet mission availability
expectations.
The Program provided an update briefing on the status of these efforts
at the 8th and 14th R-TOC Forum.
The Program office generated formal performance agreements between the
major using commands (INSCOM, USAREUR, and FORSCOM) and Product Manager,
ACS/CECOM, which define the operational availability commitments for
Guardrail/Common Sensor equipment and the metrics that will be used to
determine success.
The program also reviewed all current contracts with support providers,
including contractors, DLA inventory control points, and depots, to
determine performance type and identify which ones are appropriate for
performance based contracting. The program is working with the CECOM
Acquisition Center to develop future contracts as performance
agreements, and is working with the depot to develop sustainment
programs.
The program explored the development of a methodology to prioritize work
efforts among stakeholders. The stakeholders would not discuss sharing
of funding, which would be a necessary condition for establishing a
program WCF. As an alternative, the program is developing a concept for
a Life Cycle Management Program IPT, which would involve all GR/CS
stakeholders in the identification of performance measures and the
establishment of priorities for sustainment and modernization.
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