Noting that the new strategy also calls for using fielded systems as starting points for CAC2S Phase 1, he added, “So instead of us developing a new command post or developing a new communications system for aviation command and control, what we have done in the Marine Corps is to take the Combat Operations Center [COC], which is a currently fielded command post, as our starting point. Our task is to create a ‘change kit’ to upgrade that COC to make it into an air command and control system.
“We have an existing [command post] product already out there,” he continued. “But it’s not optimized for air command and control. We put in changes to make it optimized for air and ground C2 operations. That strategy not only reduces our technical risk but also provides cost avoidance by not having to buy new equipment.”
“Likewise, for our communications subsystem we take our currently fielded AN/MRQ-12 and install modification kits that turn them into a more capable and improved AN/MRQ-13. The changes are fairly minor. Essentially the changes add more capabilities and markedly improve the system’s information assurance posture,” he said.
In addition to optimizing the current ground command posts for air and ground roles, the initial phase of CAC2S will significantly enhance situational awareness by incorporating both ground and air pictures.
William E. Taylor, PEO LS, meets with Marines of Marine Air Support Squadron 3, part of the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing at Camp Pendleton, Calif., on Feb. 8, 2012, during Phase One fielding of CAC2S.
As an illustration, Masinsin offered, “As it stands right now, in our air C2 agencies we have the air situation picture well developed. But what is absent is an integrated depiction of the ground picture. When we command and control air assets that are directly in support of Marine Air Ground Task Force operations, it’s very important that we know exactly what the ground units are doing. So what we deliver in this first phase CAC2S capability is the combination of the ground picture and the air picture so that we can better develop synergies between the two.
“We are currently fielding CAC2S Phase One to the operating forces,” he said. “We achieved the Limited Deployment Capability [LDC] milestone in February of 2012 when we fielded to our formal schoolhouse at Marine Corps Communications-Electronics School and the first unit equipped, which is Marine Air Support Squadron 3, part of the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing at Camp Pendleton, Calif. Our successful fielding to those two entities was our criteria for declaring LDC.
“We recently completed the CAC2S Phase One fielding to the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing at Cherry Point, N.C.,” he continued. “At Cherry Point, we delivered equipment to Marine Air Support Squadron 1 [MASS 1], Marine Air Control Squadron 2 [MACS 2], and Marine Tactical Air Command Squadron 28 [MTACS 28]. Then the next fielding will be to our overseas unit in Okinawa, Japan, commencing in the second quarter of FY 13.”
Reiterating that the revised two-phase CAC2S strategy was “based on risk reduction and accelerated capability,” Masinsin explained that the program plan for obtaining a Phase Two capability is through a competitive contract process that included an initial demonstration effort as a precursor to the Phase Two request for proposals (RFPs).
“During the demonstration phase we asked offerors to provide a prototype to demonstrate capabilities as identified in our CPD,” he explained. “It’s a ‘come as you are party,’ if you will. Basically we said, ‘Here are our requirements. Under a fixed-price contract, build a prototype and demonstrate its capabilities against our CPD. The four contractors that participated in the demonstration phase include Boeing, Northrop Grumman, General Dynamics, and Thales-Raytheon.
“That demonstration is yet another risk-mitigation step for the program,” he stated. “By having the contractors clearly demonstrate capabilities, we can gauge where certain technologies are as far as maturity to meet our requirements. We asked them to sign up and declare how much of our CPD, as a percentage, that each of the contractors can meet. To prevent an offeror from saying that they might be at 90 percent by leaving off the 10 percent that were the hardest capabilities, we made some of the harder capabilities mandatory during the demonstration. Those mandatory capability areas include track management and data fusion.”
Masinsin said that the contractor teams each received one month at the Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren System Integration Lab (SIL), where they were able to finish the development of their prototype in a representative operational environment. Those sessions were then followed with a 10-day ‘run for record’ assessed prototype demonstration at the Marine Corps Tactical Systems Support Activity (MCTSSA) System Test and Integration Lab (STIL) at Camp Pendleton, Calif.
“We ran the contractor prototypes through increasingly more difficult scenarios to gauge their behavior and capabilities,” he said. “And we also collected data on their performance. In addition, we asked the contractors to generate two studies for us during the demonstration phase. One is a transportability study that includes things like how they would propose to package the system. The second is an architecture study to surface the design and architecture of their prototype for us.”