An Army pilot program testing a new acquisition strategy to purchase radios as a service has seen “mixed results,” according to one official.
The Army kicked off the effort late last year and this spring issued a request for information from industry about the project, which would be a departure from the service’s traditional approach to buying and sustaining radios.
Mark Kitz, the Army’s program executive officer for tactical command, control and communications, said Wednesday the service hasn’t determined how to proceed with the effort.
“I think we’re still struggling with, what are the upfront investments the Army needs to make, and then what’s the return on investment for you, industry, with radio as a service,” he said during a presentation at AFCEA’s TechNet conference in Augusta, Georgia. “I think lukewarm would be my assessment right now.”
The Army initiated the pilot as a cost-effective option for modernizing its hundreds of thousands of radios — an inventory too large to quickly upgrade.
The model would operate like a subscription service in which the Army leases capability when it needs it rather than buying and maintaining radios outright as the service does today.
Vendors would provide a limited number of radios as needed for training and operations and then would upgrade their software to match modernization requirements.
Officials have varying views on the prospects of the program, meanwhile. Army Undersecretary Gabe Camarillo, for example, has said he finds the idea compelling, while Kits said he remains committed to the effort and “believes we’re going to get a strong return on investment.”
“I don’t necessarily see that from the pilot, and so I think that’s going to be a continued conversation with industry,” he said.
Kitz was optimistic, however, about two other “as-a-service” pilots for satellite communications and IT. He said the Army is committed to making the pilot work for SATCOM and expects the service to begin a pilot for IT at the edge over the next 18 months.
Courtney Albon is C4ISRNET’s space and emerging technology reporter. She has covered the U.S. military since 2012, with a focus on the Air Force and Space Force. She has reported on some of the Defense Department’s most significant acquisition, budget and policy challenges.
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