Countermeasure Flares Team (CFT) Leverages Acquisition Process to Meet Warfighter Demands

摘要

In 2005, the Army drastically increased monthly requirements for the M211, M212 and M206 countermeasure flares from 9,000 to 54,000 in just 3 months. This new requirement was the challenge faced and met by the Project Manager Close Combat Systems (PM CCS) CFT. Driving the demand was the highly accelerated, fleetwide fielding of the new helicopter-mounted Common Missile Warning System (CMWS) without sufficient munitions to support it in theater. 'The M211, M212 and M206 flares have been highly effective in defeating surface- to-air heat-seeking missiles, and have saved countless Soldiers' lives,' remarked PM CCS COL Ray Nulk. As demand rose and funds became available, the team worked with producers to rapidly increase production capacity. At the same time, the testing team performed lot acceptance testing against intensive schedules to verify product quality while performing additional qualification testing in support of new production processes and equipment implementation. The integrated product team (IPT) was established to guide the contracting process, resulting in awards within 30 days of receiving funds by providing innovative contracting strategies. The government team and flare producers worked in close collaboration so increases in production capacity did not interrupt current flare production, delivery or quality. Jointly, they were able to streamline approvals of new tooling, manufacturing processes and lot acceptance testing to ensure that deliveries arrived in time to support theater operations. PM CCS qualified new suppliers to support increased production, not only allowing increased rates, but also eliminating potential single points of failure while reducing and mitigating risks. Manufacturers were directed to expedite flare delivery by shipping directly from the production line to Dover Air Force Base (AFB), DE, or Charleston AFB, SC, for delivery to Kuwait or Iraq until inventory was sufficient in theater to support monthly requirements.