Defense Acquisitions: Significant Challenges Ahead in Developing 
and Demonstrating Future Combat System's Network and Software	 
(07-MAR-08, GAO-08-409).					 
                                                                 
The Army's Future Combat System (FCS) requires a software-based  
advanced information network to meld people, sensors, and weapons
into a cohesive fighting force. As software controls 95 percent  
of FCS's functionality, it determines the success or failure of  
the program. The Army contracted with the Boeing Company as a	 
lead systems integrator (LSI) to define, develop and integrate	 
FCS, including software development. GAO must by law report	 
annually on FCS. This is one of two reports to meet this	 
requirement. It addresses risks facing the development of network
and software, the practices being used to manage software, and	 
the timing of key network demonstrations. In conducting our work,
GAO has contacted numerous DOD, Army, and contractor offices;	 
reviewed technical documents on software and network development 
and plans; attended meetings; and spoken to Army and other	 
officials on various aspects of FCS network and software	 
development. GAO also performed detailed work at five FCS	 
software developers.						 
-------------------------Indexing Terms------------------------- 
REPORTNUM:   GAO-08-409 					        
    ACCNO:   A81261						        
  TITLE:     Defense Acquisitions: Significant Challenges Ahead in    
Developing and Demonstrating Future Combat System's Network and  
Software							 
     DATE:   03/07/2008 
  SUBJECT:   Combat readiness					 
	     Defense capabilities				 
	     Developmental testing				 
	     Integrated software				 
	     Military research and development			 
	     Military technology				 
	     Operational testing				 
	     Performance management				 
	     Program evaluation 				 
	     Program management 				 
	     Risk assessment					 
	     Risk management					 
	     Software engineering				 
	     Strategic planning 				 
	     Sustainable development				 
	     Army Future Combat Systems 			 
	     Army Warfighter Information Network		 
	     DOD Joint Tactical Radio System			 

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GAO-08-409

   

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GAO: 

March 2008: 

United States Government Accountability Office: 

Report to Congressional Committees: 

Defense Acquisitions: 

Significant Challenges Ahead in Developing and Demonstrating Future 
Combat System's Network and Software: 

FCS Software: 

GAO-08-409: 

GAO Highlights: 

Highlights of GAO-08-409, a report to Congressional Committees. 

Why GAO Did This Study: 

The Armyï¿½s Future Combat System (FCS) requires a software-based 
advanced information network to meld people, sensors, and weapons into 
a cohesive fighting force. As software controls 95 percent of FCSï¿½s 
functionality, it determines the success or failure of the program. The 
Army contracted with the Boeing Company as a lead systems integrator 
(LSI) to define, develop and integrate FCS, including software 
development. 

GAO must by law report annually on FCS. This is one of two reports to 
meet this requirement. It addresses risks facing the development of 
network and software, the practices being used to manage software, and 
the timing of key network demonstrations. 

In conducting our work, GAO has contacted numerous DOD, Army, and 
contractor offices; reviewed technical documents on software and 
network development and plans; attended meetings; and spoken to Army 
and other officials on various aspects of FCS network and software 
development. GAO also performed detailed work at five FCS software 
developers. 

What GAO Found: 

Almost 5 years into the program, it is not yet clear if or when the 
information network that is at the heart of the FCS concept can be 
developed, built, and demonstrated by the Army and LSI. Significant 
management and technical challenges have placed development of the 
network and software at risk. These risks include, among others, 
network performance and scalability, immature network architecture, and 
synchronization of FCS with Joint Tactical Radio System and Warfighter 
Information Network Tactical programs that have significant technical 
challenges of their own. Software being developed for the network and 
platforms is projected to total 95.1 million lines of computer code, 
almost triple the size since the program began in 2003. As shown, FCSï¿½s 
software is about four times larger than the next two largest software-
intensive defense programs. 

Figure: Comparison of FCS Software Size to the Next Largest Software 
Intensive Defense Programs: 

This figure is a bar graph showing a comparison of FCS software size to 
the next largest software intensive defense programs. 

Joint Strike Fighter: 22.9; 
Multi-mission Maritime Aircraft: 24.5; 
Future Combat System: 95.1. 

[See PDF for image] 

Source: Army, Navy, Air Force (data); GAO (analysis and presentation). 

[End of figure] 

Although several disciplined practices are being used to develop FCSï¿½s 
network and software, the programï¿½s immaturity and aggressive pace 
during development have delayed requirements development at the 
software developer level. For example, software developers for 5 major 
software packages that GAO reviewed report that high-level requirements 
provided to them were poorly defined, late, or omitted in the 
development process. This caused the software developers to do rework 
or defer functionality out to future builds. In turn, these poor or 
late requirements had a cascading effect that caused other software 
development efforts to be delayed. 

It is unclear when or how it can be demonstrated that the FCS network 
will work as needed, especially at key program junctures. For example, 
in 2009, network requirements, including software, may not be 
adequately defined nor designs completed at the preliminary design 
review; and at the FCS milestone review later that year, network 
demonstration is expected to be very limited. The first major FCS 
network demonstrationï¿½the limited user test in 2012ï¿½will take place at 
least a year after the critical design review and only a year before 
the start of FCS production. That test will seek to identify the impact 
of the contributions and limitations of the network on the ability to 
conduct missions. This test will be conducted after the designs have 
been set for the FCS ground vehicles, which poses risks because the 
designs depend on the networkï¿½s performance. A full demonstration of 
the network with all of its software components will not be 
demonstrated until at least 2013 when the fully automated battle 
command system is expected to be ready. 

What GAO Recommends: 

GAO recommends that the Secretary of Defense direct the program to 
stabilize network and software requirements on each build to enable 
adherence to disciplined practices and establish clear criteria on 
acceptable network performance and demonstrations at each of the key 
program events. DOD concurred with GAOï¿½s recommendations. 

To view the full product, including the scope and methodology, click on 
[hyperlink, http://www.GAO-08-409]. For more information, contact Paul 
L. Francis at (202) 512-4841 or [email protected]. 

[End of section] 

Contents: 

Letter: 

Results in Brief: 

Background: 

Unclear If or When the Army Can Develop, Build, and Demonstrate the FCS 
Network: 

Software Practices Have Been Adopted, but Implementation Has Been 
Hampered by Evolving Requirements: 

Uncertainty about Network Development and Demonstration Present 
Challenges for Decisionmakers at Key Program Events: 

Conclusions: 

Recommendations for Executive Action: 

Agency Comments and Our Evaluation: 

Appendix I: Scope and Methodology: 

Appendix II: Comments from the Department of Defense: 

Appendix III: List of FCS Software (Network & Non-network) Packages 
Developed by Contractors (as of July 2007): 

Appendix IV: GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments: 

Related GAO Products: 

Tables: 

Table 1: FCS Software Growth Estimates: 

Table 2: Software Packages and Associated Requirements Problems: 

Figures: 

Figure 1: Examples of Sensors for FCS Brigade Combat Teams: 

Figure 2: Visual Depiction of How the Warfighter Could See the 
Battlefield: 

Figure 3: JTRS Radios for FCS Platforms: 

Figure 4: Comparison of FCS Software SLOC Size to Other Major Defense 
Programs: 

Figure 5: Traditional Spiral Development Illustration: 

Figure 6: FCS Spiral Development Strategy and Software Life Cycle 
Reviews: 

Abbreviations: 

BCT: Brigade Combat Team: 

DOD: Department of Defense: 

FCS: Future Combat System: 

JTRS: Joint Tactical Radio System: 

LSI: lead systems integrator: 

SOSCOE: System of Systems Common Operating Environment: 

WIN-T: Warfighter Information Network-Tactical: 

United States Government Accountability Office: 

Washington, DC 20548: 

March 7, 2008: 

Congressional Committees: 

The Army's transformation to a lighter, more agile, better equipped, 
and more lethal and survivable combat force--the Future Combat System 
(FCS) program, which comprises 14 integrated weapon systems--depends on 
successfully developing an advanced information network that links 
people, platforms, weapons, and sensors together. The FCS program is 
considered by the Army to be the greatest technology and integration 
challenge that they have ever undertaken and the network may be the 
most important element of FCS. In order to make this leap, software and 
technology must be developed that will allow the network to (1) 
collect, process, and deliver vast amounts of information such as 
imagery and communications; (2) seamlessly link people and systems; and 
(3) integrate and enhance the individual performance of the systems 
themselves. Because software is expected to control about 95 percent of 
FCS's functionality, it is the linchpin to the success or failure of 
the program. The magnitude, size, and complexity of the network and 
software development are unprecedented in the Department of Defense's 
(DOD) history. To help them with this ambitious endeavor, the Army 
contracted with the Boeing Company as the lead systems integrator (LSI) 
in 2003 to define, develop, and integrate FCS, including software 
development that is being done in cooperation with the FCS program 
office. 

Given its cost, scope, and technical challenges, section 211 of the 
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2006 requires GAO to 
report annually on the FCS program.[Footnote 1] As one of two reviews 
conducted this year by GAO under this authority, this report addresses 
(1) challenges and technological risks that could hamper successful 
development of the network and software, (2) whether disciplined 
software practices have been effectively implemented for managing 
development of FCS's network and software, and (3) whether the Army 
will have the necessary network and software at key program events such 
as preliminary design review, critical design review, and start of FCS 
production. A second report addresses the specific elements of section 
211 to include FCS development, production, and cost issues.[Footnote 
2] 

In conducting our work, we have contacted numerous DOD, Army, and 
contractor offices. We also conducted detailed work and held 
discussions with selected contractors on their efforts to develop five 
major software packages that are to operate the network, training, 
combat identification, and other elements for FCS. We reviewed 
technical network and software plans, assessments, and studies 
pertaining to the FCS program, attended meetings at which DOD and Army 
officials reviewed program progress, and held discussions with key Army 
and LSI officials on various aspects of the network and software 
development for FCS. Officials from DOD, Army, and LSI have provided us 
access to sufficient information to make informed judgments on the 
matters in this report. In addition, we drew from our body of past work 
on weapon systems acquisitions practices and software development best 
practices. We conducted this performance audit from July 2007 to March 
2008 in accordance with generally accepted government auditing 
standards. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit 
to obtain sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable 
basis for our findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. 
We believe that the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for 
our findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. Appendix I 
further discusses our scope and methodology. 

Results in Brief: 

It is not yet clear if or when the Army and LSI can develop, build, and 
demonstrate the information network that is at the heart of the FCS 
concept. The Army is faced with significant management and 
technological challenges that place development of FCS's network and 
software at risk. Almost 5 years into the program, the Army and LSI 
have not yet fully defined how the FCS network is expected to function, 
how they plan to build it, and how they plan to demonstrate it. The 
Army and LSI have identified and need to address numerous areas of high 
risk such as network performance and scalability, immature network 
architecture, and synchronization of FCS with the Joint Tactical Radio 
System (JTRS) and Warfighter Information Network Tactical (WIN-T) 
programs, which are having difficulty with technology maturation and 
are at risk of being delayed or delivering incomplete capabilities to 
FCS. Software being developed for the network and platforms by the LSI 
and software developers is now projected to total about 95.1 million 
lines of computer code, which almost triples the size since the program 
began in 2003. A June 2006 report issued by the Secretary of Defense's 
Cost Analysis Improvement Group found that the FCS program is at risk 
of higher costs due to, among other things, the size and complexity of 
the FCS software development program. This group also said the 
development schedule is highly likely to take several years beyond the 
Army's plan, and the network is at risk because it is tied to JTRS and 
WIN-T programs that could cause delays in FCS's development schedule. 
Similarly, a recent study by the Institute for Defense Analysis found 
that the FCS program would likely experience additional growth in 
unplanned software effort, unplanned rework before and after 
operational testing, and additional work to address system of systems 
integration, validation, and test after the critical design review 
point. 

While the Army and LSI have implemented several disciplined practices 
that have proven successful at leading software companies, such as the 
use of repeatable and managed development processes and use of a 
structured management review process to ensure quality development, we 
found that the immature definition of system-level requirements by the 
Army and LSI was causing problems. For example, the software developers 
for the five major software packages we reviewed report that high-level 
requirements provided to them by the LSI for decomposition and 
refinement were poorly defined, omitted, or late in the software 
development process. Also, we found that poor or late requirements 
development has had a cascading effect as late delivery or poorly 
defined requirements on one software development effort, in turn, 
caused other software development efforts to be delayed. For example, 
four of the five software developers report that problems with late 
requirements have caused them to do rework or to defer functionality 
out to future builds because of insufficient time. These software 
developers report that schedule compression caused much of this strain, 
which could have been averted if they had been allowed sufficient time 
to adequately understand and analyze the requirements. 

It is unclear when or how the Army and LSI will be able to demonstrate 
that the network will work as needed, which poses risks for the designs 
of individual FCS systems and the ability to assess FCS's viability at 
key decision points. For example, it is unclear if network 
requirements, including software to be developed, will be adequately 
defined and designs completed at the preliminary design review 
scheduled for February 2009. To date, only some elementary aspects of 
the FCS network, such as basic connectivity have been demonstrated. At 
the time of the FCS milestone review in 2009, the extent of network 
demonstration is expected to be very limited. For example, the Army 
expects to demonstrate some network functions, such as linkage with 
remote sensors, during the spinout demonstrations in fiscal year 2008. 
Other limited demonstrations are scheduled on a regular basis. However, 
the first major demonstration of the FCS network is the limited user 
test scheduled for fiscal year 2012, which will be at least a year 
after the critical design review and only about a year before the start 
of FCS production. This event comes after the vehicle designs on manned 
ground platforms have been established. One of the key objectives of 
that test will be to identify the contributions and limitations of the 
network regarding the ability of the FCS brigade combat team to conduct 
missions across the full spectrum of operations. However, the fully 
automated battle command system is not expected until 2013 when the 
Army expects 100 percent of the network capabilities including software 
to be available. 

We are making recommendations to the Secretary of Defense regarding the 
stabilization of network and software requirements on each build to 
enable adherence to disciplined software practices, and establishment 
of clear performance criteria for acceptable network performance and 
demonstrations at each of the key program events. In commenting on a 
draft of this report, DOD concurred with our recommendations. 

Background: 

The advanced information network is the heart of the Army's FCS concept 
and is intended to allow fielded FCS Brigade Combat Teams (BCT) to see 
the enemy first, understand the situation first, act first, and finish 
decisively. The FCS network management system to be deployed to the 
Army's BCT is envisioned to: (1) plan and manage multi-technology 
mobile tactical communication; (2) encompass satellite, aerial and 
ground communication assets that provide multi-media voice, data, and 
video services to all elements of the FCS BCT; and (3) interface with 
terrestrial, aerial, and satellite assets of an Army division. If the 
FCS network works as intended, all commanders in the BCT and throughout 
areas of operations will have a common set of data that will allow for 
the synchronization of many BCT activities including the integration of 
fire and maneuver, intelligence collection, fusion, and dissemination, 
and sustainment of the force. The Army envisions that the network 
architecture would also permit connectivity with other military 
services, thus allowing additional situational awareness and 
understanding, and synchronized operations that are unachievable by 
current systems. 

FCS-equipped BCTs are to have significant warfighting capabilities that 
differ substantially from the large division-centric structure. The 
survival and combat effectiveness of FCS BCTs are critically dependent 
on the ability to see first, understand first, act first, and finish 
decisively. Through an advanced information network, the concept is to 
replace mass with superior information that will allow soldiers to see 
and hit the enemy first rather than to rely on heavy armor to withstand 
a hit. This new way of fighting solely depends on developing an 
information network that can successfully link the people, platforms, 
weapons, and sensors seamlessly together in a system of systems. This 
new way of fighting can be achieved only if the data can be made 
available in near real-time at sensor processors, at the battle command 
nodes, and at lethal systems. For example, FCS's survivability depends 
on the brigade-wide availability of the network-based situational 
awareness plus the inherent survivability of the FCS platforms. 

FCS Network Elements: 

Elements of the FCS information network will include the software and 
technology (applications, computers, and radios) that will link the 
people, platforms, weapons, and sensors together. These elements are 
expected to provide delivery of voice, data, video, still images, and 
network control services wirelessly over a mobile ad hoc 
network.[Footnote 3] In contrast to traditional wireless systems such 
as cellular phones that connect to a fixed station or permanent access 
point, FCS's ad hoc network will not have access to such an 
infrastructure. Thus, the quality of service--the capability to 
transport information across the network while satisfying communication 
performance requirements such as low delay, low loss, or high 
throughput--becomes critically important and challenging due to limited 
available bandwidth.[Footnote 4] Essentially, tasks like mission 
planning, platform and soldier logistics management, battlespace 
analysis, collaboration, fire and effect controls, and network 
management will be done on the move. All of the 14 FCS platform types-
-manned ground vehicles, unmanned ground vehicles, unmanned air 
vehicles, and unattended ground sensors--are expected to have network 
elements that will enable them to share information and coordinate with 
one another. These elements include: 

Sensors. Sensors are the hardware and software that will provide FCS 
with the ability to "see first" and achieve situational awareness and 
understanding of the battlefield. These sensors will include such 
functions as search and detection of enemy fire, personnel, munitions, 
minefields, and terrain. The intelligence, surveillance and 
reconnaissance sensors will be integrated onto all manned and unmanned 
ground vehicles and aerial platforms, and will be capable of 
accomplishing a variety of missions that include, among others, 
surveillance over wide areas and target detection, enabling 
survivability. The unmanned aerial vehicles will be able to maneuver to 
an area of attack and the on-board sensors will provide surveillance of 
targets and terrain, among other functions. There are two types of 
unattended ground sensor systems that FCS will use--the tactical 
unattended ground sensors will provide intelligence, surveillance, and 
reconnaissance awareness to the BCTs, while urban unattended ground 
sensors will support clearing operations in confined spaces or urban 
chokepoints. According to the Army, complex data processing, filtering, 
aided target recognition, and fusion will be supported by software to 
provide warfighters with vital information. For example, the sensor 
data management software will organize the sensor data and track the 
information received from sensors. Figure 1 shows some types of FCS 
sensors. 

Figure 1: Examples of Sensors for FCS Brigade Combat Teams: 

This is a figure of a combination pictures of examples of sensors for 
FCS brigade combat teams. The pictures are of an electro-optical sensor 
on aerial platforms, an electo-optical sensor on ground combat 
platforms, and unattended ground sensors. 

[See PDF for image] 

Source: U.S. Army. 

[End of figure] 

Software. Software is expected to control about 95 percent of FCS's 
functionality and will be included in all FCS platforms. In its 
simplest form, software is the collection of computer programs and 
procedures that perform some task on a computer system or platform. It 
includes: (1) system software such as operating systems, which 
interface with hardware to provide the necessary services for 
application software; (2) middleware, which controls and coordinates 
distributed systems; and (3) application software such as word 
processors, which perform productive tasks for users. Overall 
development of FCS software is being managed by the LSI in cooperation 
with the Army's FCS Program Office. There are over 100 software vendors 
involved in the development of software programs for FCS, including the 
LSI, 14 first-tier contractors, and other sub-contractors. 

Over 75 percent of software being developed for FCS is to operate the 
network. Network software is expected to integrate the collection of 
individual systems into a system of systems. This software will include 
the System of Systems Common Operating Environment (SOSCOE), Network 
Management System, Battle Command and Mission Execution, Sensor Data 
Management, Warfighter Machine Interface[Footnote 5], and others. These 
will be included on all the FCS platforms and will perform a variety of 
functions. For example, software on platforms is to control the 
individual systems, such as radios and air and ground vehicle 
communications. SOSCOE is the operating environment that serves as the 
middleware between the operating systems and the software applications, 
integrating all other FCS software. The Battle Command software is to 
provide functions such as mission planning and preparation, situational 
understanding, and battle management and mission execution. Warfighter 
Machine Interface software is expected to provide the visual interface 
of the network to the warfighter. According to the Army, Warfighter 
Machine Interface is "the face of the FCS network," which includes the 
display of services, touch screens, and buttons. It will provide a 
visual picture of the battlespace and allows the ability to collaborate 
across the forces. Figure 2 shows how the warfighter may see the 
battlefield through the network. 

Figure 2: Visual Depiction of How the Warfighter Could See the 
Battlefield: 

This figure is a picture of a visual depiction of how the warfighter 
could see the battlefield. 

[See PDF for image] 

Source: U.S. Army. 

[End of figure] 

Integrated Computing System. The integrated computing system is the on- 
board computer that will fit into the various FCS platforms. There are 
eight types of Integrated Computing Systems that vary in size to fit 
into the various FCS platforms--manned ground vehicles, unmanned aerial 
vehicles, and unattended ground vehicles. The computing system is 
expected to provide an integrated common operating environment to 
manage processing, secure the system, and allow access to the network 
on the move. It is also envisioned to support battle command 
applications, sensor processing, communications, weapons and platform 
management, and have embedded security and safety features that will 
help ensure a secure operating environment with certified firewall and 
network intrusion protection. 

Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS)/Warfighter Information Network- 
Tactical (WIN-T). The Army plans to use the JTRS and WIN-T radios that 
employ "software-defined radio" technology in which many functions are 
performed by computer processing and technology. These and other 
critical software-intensive technologies are being developed outside of 
FCS control--termed complementary programs--and are expected to 
interoperate with existing systems and provide additional 
communications capability. The JTRS family of software-based radios is 
to provide the high-capacity, high-speed information link to vehicles, 
weapons, aircraft, sensors, and soldiers, while WIN-T is to provide 
high bandwidth connectivity to Army units on the move with higher 
levels of command to other forces, and provide the Army's tactical 
extension to the Global Information Grid.[Footnote 6] Such capabilities 
include access to maps and other visual data, communication via voice 
and video with other units and levels of command, and the acquisition 
of information directly from battlefield sensors. The JTRS family of 
programs includes the Ground Mobile Radios that are being developed for 
vehicles. Smaller JTRS Handheld, Manpack, and Small Form Factors radios 
are being developed that will be carried by soldiers and embedded in 
several FCS core systems. Software will be used to control how JTRS 
radios will work. For example, JTRS radios will use two software 
waveforms[Footnote 7] called the Wideband Networking Waveform and 
Soldier Radio Waveform. The function of the Wideband Networking 
Waveform software is to provide communications signals, routing, 
transport, network management, quality of service, information 
assurance, transport, and mobility. The Soldier Radio Waveform is being 
developed for JTRS radios--ground mobile radio, and handheld manpack 
and small form factors radios--and will primarily be used for tactical 
networking by soldiers, unattended systems, and embedded radios in 
munitions. Because FCS has unique applications and networking needs, 
the program is responsible for integrating these into their distributed 
applications that are running on SOSCOE. Figure 3 shows the JTRS 
radios. 

Figure 3: JTRS Radios for FCS Platforms: 

This figure is a picture of JTRS radios for FCS platforms. 

[See PDF for image] 

Source: U.S. Army. 

[End of figure] 

Unclear If or When the Army Can Develop, Build, and Demonstrate the FCS 
Network: 

The Army is faced with significant management and technological 
challenges that place development of the FCS network at risk. All of 
the projected FCS capabilities are heavily dependent on wide 
availability and high performance of the network. Further, preliminary 
design of the network is still being matured and much development and 
integration of the network hardware and software remains. It has taken 
almost 5 years for the Army and LSI to develop an understanding of what 
the network needs to be, what may be technically feasible, how to build 
it, and how to demonstrate it. In addition, the definition of the 
detailed network requirements is still not complete and there are 
numerous risks that must be overcome, such as the constraints imposed 
by a mobile ad hoc network, gaps between FCS network design and 
complementary program requirements, and interoperability issues with 
strategic networks of the Global Information Grid. While progress has 
been reported on software development, the continued growth in software 
code and underestimation of what it will take to develop and integrate 
software poses risk to the successful development of the network. 

Army Has Reached Understanding of the Network: 

Although maturity of network design is still a work in progress (i.e., 
numerous high risks remain and full network demonstration is years 
away), the Army has achieved an understanding of what the network needs 
to be, what may be technically feasible, how to build it, and how to 
demonstrate it. However, in addition to challenges and risks that need 
to be addressed, much learning and work remains before the Army and LSI 
can mature the network. For example, the Army and LSI are still 
determining what network management means in terms of: (1) what is 
needed to support each specific mission (radios, routers, satellites, 
computers, information assurance devices, and policies); (2) how to 
allocate network resources to the mission spectrum; and (3) how to 
fuse, process, and present extensive FCS sensor data to appropriate 
users. They are also learning how to maintain the network, such as 
monitoring the status and performance of the network (hardware faults, 
network quality of service, and overall performance); managing the 
spectrum to ensure connectivity; avoiding interference; and 
reconfiguring the network in real-time based on changing network 
conditions and mission critical traffic. 

To provide managed communication services between the soldiers, 
platforms, and sensors to complete military missions successfully, the 
Army must decide what information the individual users will need and 
its priority, where that information may reside, and how and when to 
get it to the user. For example, current plans call for the network 
supporting a BCT to include more than 5,000 nodes on over 1,500 radio 
sets running at least four different advanced networking waveforms, 
supporting networks and sub-networks interconnected by gateways, and 
carrying 3 million identified, point-to-point information exchange 
requirements.[Footnote 8] The Army's FCS program office provides that 
the primary interface types for FCS will include discovery, publish/ 
subscribe, and multi-cast methods. Given the reality that the amount of 
traffic to be sent over the network may exceed its capacity, assuring 
end-to-end quality of service over the network presents a major 
challenge. The Army and LSI have undertaken studies to better 
understand it. 

Mobile Adhoc Networks Have Inherent Constraints: 

The Army and LSI are in the midst of developing the next generation of 
wireless communications, referred to as the mobile ad hoc network, 
which is a fundamentally new capability that presents a host of 
technical challenges. For example, the mobile ad hoc network will 
operate with lower network capacity and have fewer options for 
increasing capacity due to limitations on the amount of radio frequency 
that is available. Performance of the ad hoc network is expected to 
decrease as more radios or nodes are added and eventually can reach an 
unacceptable level. That is, the size of the network may reach a 
maximum when all fixed capacity is consumed for routing traffic from 
other radios or nodes and no capacity is available for local 
consumption. In a network of limited capacity, decisions need to be 
made on how to control admission to the network, account for network 
resources, ensure end-to-end services basis, and do so in a mobile ad 
hoc network environment with varying routes and link capacities. As a 
result, the Army and LSI are working on how best to allocate functions 
throughout the FCS system of systems. 

Further, unlike common wireless systems that have access to the 
Internet--such as cellular and wireless networking protocols where 
every node is connected directly to the network by a single local 
wireless link--the FCS information network will change dynamically as 
the mobile nodes are expected to be able to communicate with each 
other, while on the move. In the FCS information network, most network 
nodes will not have local access to the network. Thus, each radio must 
also be a router, meaning that it is responsible for passing traffic 
(voice, data, and video) from other radios as well as traffic local to 
the radio. As a result, networking becomes extremely difficult for the 
following reasons: 

* The FCS information network is wireless and, consequently, the 
bandwidth limits the availability of the radio frequency spectrum. 

* A mobile ad hoc network has known characteristics that pose 
difficulties in providing quality of service such as, among others, the 
lack of precise information about network performance, lack of central 
control, and insecure media over the network. 

The research community is still studying various approaches and trade- 
offs to these open problems because they are not yet fully understood. 
Because these problems have not been solved and are not supported by an 
existing and proven technology base, there is serious concern whether 
the Army and LSI can overcome them within the current schedule. 

Network Risks Identified: 

While some progress is being made to understand what the network needs 
to be, how to build it, and how to demonstrate it, the Army and LSI 
have identified major technical and integration risks to be addressed 
in order to meet overall FCS requirements. In July 2007, the Army and 
LSI reported their findings from a network review that identified 7 
high-risks and 16 medium-risks, totaling 23 risks specific to the FCS 
network. Although Army and LSI officials are confident that such risks 
can be addressed, the scale and complexity of what is involved is 
without precedent. Among others, network risks include: 

* Enterprise network performance and scalability. There is a high 
likelihood that the FCS network performance will be affected because ad 
hoc networks have limited scalability, and performance decreases as 
more radios are added. 

* End-to-end quality of service on mobile ad hoc networks. The 
probability is high that the FCS network will not be able to ensure 
that the information with the highest value is delivered on time to the 
intended recipients. Failure to support the warfighter in defining and 
implementing command intent for information management will result in 
substantially reduced force effectiveness. These capabilities are 
dependent on actual performance of JTRS and WIN-T, both of which have 
their own technology, development, and programmatic difficulties and 
are at risk of being delayed or delivering incomplete capabilities. The 
FCS Program Office and LSI are working closely with program offices 
responsible for managing these complementary programs, but 
synchronization of the detailed requirements is still problematic. 

* End-to-end interoperability with strategic networks of the Global 
Information Grid. The requirements of interoperability with strategic 
networks of the Grid will be another challenge. Given the already 
stressed conditions envisioned for FCS tactical networks, 
interoperability with strategic networks will be technically 
challenging. 

* Soldier radio waveform availability. The soldier radio waveform 
provides functional capability that is needed to support many FCS 
systems but may not be completed in time to support FCS. These 
capabilities facilitate interoperability functions between the FCS 
family of systems. The development of waveforms remains a technically 
challenging and lengthy effort, which involves complex software 
development and integration work. The program has already experienced 
schedule delays, cost increases, and requirements changes. As such, 
these functional capabilities are critical to FCS's performance and 
these delays will negatively impact the schedule. 

* System of Systems Common Operating Environment availability and 
maturity. There is recognized risk that SOSCOE may not reach the 
necessary maturity level required to meet program milestones. There are 
also recognized risks associated with interoperability of the software 
and dissemination of data to the mobile ad hoc network. 

* Software productivity. There is recognized high risk that the LSI and 
its contractors may not be able to build, test, and integrate as much 
software as planned in the projected times. If software productivity 
falls short of planned efforts, the overall software build schedules 
will be impacted by 2 to 4 months, and integration will also be 
correspondingly impacted. 

Software Code Estimates Continue to Grow: 

The amount of estimated software code required for FCS has recently 
increased to 95.1 million lines. This is nearly triple the original 
estimate made in 2003 and the largest software effort by far for any 
weapon system. Software code is difficult to estimate and 
underestimation is not unique to FCS. Compounding this inherent 
difficulty on FCS were the program's poorly defined requirements, 
indicative of its immaturity. Lines of code have grown as requirements 
have become better understood. While the Army believes the latest 
increases will not command higher costs, independent estimates suggest 
otherwise. 

The Army and LSI continue to underestimate the size of software needed 
for FCS. Studies show this is a common mistake made by defense and 
private industry that develop software-intensive systems, which can 
lead to longer schedules and increased cost. Apart from the sheer 
difficulty of writing and testing such a large volume of complex code, 
a number of risks face the FCS software development effort. As 
requirements have become better understood, the number of lines of code 
has grown significantly since the program began in 2003. Table 1 shows 
FCS code growth for total source lines of code[Footnote 9] (SLOC) and 
the effective source lines of code[Footnote 10] (ESLOC). 

Table 1: FCS Software Growth Estimates: 

Numbers in millions of source lines of code. 

SLOC; 
Numbers in millions of source lines of code: Original estimate (May 
2003): 33.7; 
Numbers in millions of source lines of code: Revised estimate (as of 
January 2006): 63.8; 
Numbers in millions of source lines of code: Revised estimate (as of 
August 2007): 95.1; 
Numbers in millions of source lines of code: Percentage increase: 182. 

ESLOC; 
Numbers in millions of source lines of code: Original estimate (May 
2003): 12.8; 
Numbers in millions of source lines of code: Revised estimate (as of 
January 2006): 17.1; 
Numbers in millions of source lines of code: Revised estimate (as of 
August 2007): 19.6; 
Numbers in millions of source lines of code: Percentage increase: 53. 

Source: U.S. Army (data); GAO (analysis and presentation). 

[End of table] 

Since May 2003, projected SLOCs have increased by 61.4 million to an 
estimated 95.1 million lines of computer software code, almost triple 
in size compared to original estimates. Similarly, ESLOCs increased by 
6.8 million to 19.6 million lines of computer software code, a 53 
percent increase. Since January 2006, both SLOC and ESLOC estimates 
have significantly increased. For example, SLOC estimates increased by 
31.3 million lines of computer code, or about 50 percent, while ESLOC 
estimates increased by 2.5 million lines of computer code, or about 15 
percent. Army officials attributed this surge to operating system 
software that was greatly underestimated in 2003 when the program 
began. These latest estimates now include operating system software 
that will be used on the integrated computer system. 

While the Army and LSI have completed the first software build--and 
were close to completing the second of five total software builds at 
the time of our review--each build required more "actual" software 
coding than was originally estimated, further indicating that efforts 
on what it will take to develop and integrate software may be more than 
planned. For example, the ESLOCs for Build "0" increased 6 percent from 
an estimated 0.96 million to 1.02 million actual source lines of 
computer code. Similarly, at the time of our review, ESLOCs for Build 
"1" increased 17 percent from an estimated 5.3 million lines of code to 
6.2 million lines of computer code.[Footnote 11] Army officials 
maintain that these increases will not have a major impact on the 
program. However, experiences of other organizations that develop 
software-intensive systems suggest otherwise, according to leading 
experts who conducted extensive research of over 20,000 software 
development projects spanning 18 years. For example, poor size 
estimation is one of the main reasons that major software-intensive 
acquisition programs ultimately fail. In fact, the defense industry, 
private sector, and academia note that software size is a critical 
factor in determining cost, schedule, and effort, and failure to 
accurately predict software size results in cost overruns and late 
deliveries. According to guidance made available by the Software 
Technology Support Center at Hill Air Force Base[Footnote 12] for 
defense organizations that develop software, deviations in software 
size data indicate problems with: 

* faulty software productivity estimates; 

* requirements stability, design, coding, and process; 

* unrealistic interpretation of original requirements and resource 
estimates; and: 

* rationale used to develop the estimates. 

A contributing factor for the Army and LSI's inaccurate software sizing 
estimates is that system-level requirements have not been fully 
defined, which makes it difficult to determine what will be needed in 
terms of software. In May 2003, the Army and LSI estimated that it 
would take about 34 million lines of code at a time when they were 
still trying to identify and understand the high-level requirements. 
Despite not fully understanding those high-level requirements, the Army 
proceeded with efforts to develop software for FCS. To date, estimating 
accuracy continues to be hampered by evolving requirements, immature 
architecture, and insufficient time to thoroughly analyze software 
subsystems sizing. The difficulties associated with accurate software 
estimating is an indication that complexity increases as the design is 
better understood and this serves to increase the level of effort. The 
potential consequences are longer development time and greater costs. 

Taking the latest code estimate into consideration, the total size of 
FCS's software is about four times larger than the next largest 
software-intensive defense programs. Figure 4 compares FCS's software 
SLOC size estimate to the next two largest software intensive defense 
programs--the Navy's P-8A Multi-mission Maritime Aircraft, and the 
Joint Strike Fighter aircraft. 

Figure 4: Comparison of FCS Software Size to the Next Largest Software 
Intensive Defense Programs: 

This figure is a bar graph showing a comparison of FCS software size to 
the next largest software intensive defense programs. 

Joint Strike Fighter: 22.9; 
Multi-mission Maritime Aircraft: 24.5; 
Future Combat System: 95.1. 

[See PDF for image] 

Source: Army, Navy, Air Force (data); GAO (analysis and presentation). 

[End of figure] 

Independent cost analyses done for FCS have cited software as a likely 
source of cost growth. According to a June 2006 report issued by the 
Office of the Secretary of Defense's Cost Analysis Improvement Group, 
the FCS program was found to be at risk of higher costs due to, among 
other things, the size and complexity of the FCS software development 
program. The Cost Analysis Improvement Group also said that the network 
is at risk because it is tied to the JTRS and WIN-T programs that could 
cause delays in FCS's development schedule. Another study issued in 
April 2007 by the Institute for Defense Analyses for the Office of the 
Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics on 
FCS costs found that Army plans for developing FCS, including the 
network, were optimistic with regard to time and money needed for the 
program. The Institute projected at least $3 billion in additional FCS 
development costs due to unplanned software effort including code 
growth, software integration difficulties, and longer development 
schedules. The Army does not agree with the Institute's assessment and 
believe these issues can be offset. 

Software Practices Have Been Adopted, but Implementation Has Been 
Hampered by Evolving Requirements: 

The Army and LSI have adopted a number of disciplined software 
practices, but their effective implementation at the software developer 
level has been hampered by evolving system-level requirements. In 
accordance with CMMI[Footnote 13] and under the advisory of the 
Software Engineering Institute, the Army and LSI have adopted software 
practices that are known to be successful in fostering quality software 
development, such as disciplined processes, structured management 
review processes, and an "evolutionary" development process. In our 
analysis of five FCS software developers, we found that requirements 
management was the cause of most problems, indicating that a key 
practice for managing and developing requirements has not been 
effectively implemented for the five software packages reviewed. 

Key Software Development Practices and Processes Used: 

For FCS software development, the Army and LSI are jointly in charge of 
oversight and decision-making, and have attempted to do so effectively 
through the use of disciplined processes, structured management review 
processes, and an "evolutionary" development process. Seventy-five 
percent of the FCS software is being developed by 14 software 
developers (all certified at CMMI level 3 or above) who are developing 
52 major software packages. Detailed information about those software 
developers and what they are responsible for delivering is provided in 
appendix III. 

Through the use of disciplined processes, the Army and LSI have strived 
to organize and synchronize the large amount of concurrent software 
development that is taking place. In keeping with the spiral model for 
development, software development is divided into five builds, and each 
build has an "early" and "final" stage. Furthermore, each build has 
four phases--requirements, design, code, and test. Essentially, the 
spiral model condenses all four phases into builds so that certain 
interim capabilities can be provided and "spun out" before the entire 
program is completed. Figure 5 shows a traditional spiral model. 

Figure 5: Traditional Spiral Development Illustration: 

This figure is an chart showing traditional spiral development 
illustration. 

[See PDF for image] 

Source: U.S. Army (data); GAO (analysis and presentation). 

[End of figure] 

The LSI's structured management review processes involve the management 
of network and software development through the use of several 
mechanisms that keep track of a series of weekly and monthly program 
meetings, agendas, progress, and issues. In addition, key metrics are 
tracked by the software developers and reported to the LSI such as 
defect age, process compliance, product defects, progress, requirement 
stability, software development environment, software lines of code, 
code reuse, and staffing. In the event these metrics reveal a problem 
or undesirable trend, the LSI takes action to attempt to remedy the 
situation. 

Anchor points are also used by the LSI to maintain structured 
management review. At a minimum, three software development reviews 
will be performed for software within a build--life cycle objectives, 
life cycle architecture, and test readiness reviews. Developers conduct 
life cycle objective anchor point reviews (or software requirements 
reviews) to communicate their detailed understanding of the 
functionality and performance to be provided by the software item(s) 
for a given build. Life cycle architecture anchor point reviews (or 
preliminary design reviews) demonstrate the feasibility of implementing 
the planned functionality for the software item(s) for a given build 
within the planned architecture, requirements, cost, and schedule. 
Successful completion of a formal test readiness review will mean that 
the developer is ready to start software item formal qualification 
testing for the applicable software items for a given build. 

The Army and LSI also use the evolutionary development process, in 
which software builds are begun with the understanding that the user 
need is not fully understood and all requirements cannot be defined up 
front. In this strategy, user needs and system requirements are 
partially defined up front and then refined in each succeeding build. 
The way in which all 52 software packages are being developed at the 
same time has been called concurrent engineering, which has pros and 
cons. A pro is that the concurrent development aims to keep the program 
as a whole on schedule. But software developers reported that when 
requirements are late or ambiguous, the concurrent engineering approach 
has a negative cascading effect as all of the software efforts are 
interrelated. 

The Army and LSI are also using modeling and simulation, which takes 
place in System Integration Labs, and in Huntington Beach, California, 
at the System of Systems Integration Lab (SoSIL). Since integration and 
interoperability will be the major challenge in building the FCS, the 
SoSIL is intended to provide a distributed capability to develop and 
integrate not only the software but also early hardware and system 
prototypes to assess and ultimately verify the integration and 
interoperability of the FCS system of systems and also give program 
management critical feedback from the user. 

Lack of Stable Requirements Has Disrupted Implementation of Good 
Software Practices: 

Our analysis of the LSI's software practices and the effect they are 
having on five subcontracted software developers revealed key problem 
areas that may be indicators of broader software development problems. 
We focused mainly on the following areas: Agreement Management, 
Acquisition Requirements Development, Project Monitoring and Control, 
Project Planning, and Requirements Management. Of these areas, 
Requirements Management was found to be the cause of most problems, 
indicating that a key practice for managing and developing requirements 
has not been effectively implemented for the five software packages 
reviewed. In practice, phases within a build are becoming concurrent, 
and the completion of one build is overlapping the start of the next 
build. Software developers stated that additional time, cost, and 
deferred functionality were the most common results of poorly defined, 
late, or unstable requirements. 

The continuing evolution of FCS system-level requirements, including 
that caused by Army decisions on what it can afford to develop, and the 
aggressive pace of the program, are causing disruptions at the software 
developer level. In an effort to control overall FCS development costs, 
the Army is reviewing many areas of FCS development, including 
software, to potentially eliminate areas that are not absolutely 
essential or critical. Whereas it is a good practice to eliminate these 
non-essential areas, the drawback is that this causes change in 
requirements, thereby directly impacting the design and writing of 
software code. According to LSI officials, changes at the Operational 
Requirements Document level are not major or frequent, and requirements 
at that level have actually decreased. Even so, requirements growth and 
changes are occurring at the system level, which has a cascading effect 
on the detailed requirements all the way down to the software developer 
level. The growth results in requirements provided to software 
developers that are poorly defined, late, or unstable. 

For example, developers at iRobot told us they received poorly defined 
requirements which specified that the small unmanned ground vehicle 
have a fire extinguisher onboard and be able to withstand direct 
lightning strikes. Since the small unmanned ground vehicle is a small 
man-packable robot, these requirements were not practical, but the Army 
and LSI failed to realize the fundamental differences between this 
small robot and its other unmanned ground vehicles such as the 
Multifunction Utility/Logistics Equipment vehicle, which is a 2-1/2 ton 
vehicle, compared to the small unmanned ground vehicle, which weighs 
less than 30 pounds. The developer of Battle Command and Mission 
Execution told us that additional requirements were received after the 
life cycle architecture review, which is considered late in 
development. The SOSCOE developers also told us they received late 
requirements for build 1.8, which caused problems for many other 
software developers since the late requirements caused them to deliver 
build 1.8 late and with missing functionality that many developers had 
expected and were counting on for their own work packages. SOSCOE 
developers stated that this happened because of misaligned schedules 
from the top down, and indicated that they too had experienced problems 
with requirements. Unstable requirements have also been a problem for 
developers of the Network Management Systems who reported requirements 
that changed have caused rework in many cases. Table 2 summarizes 
problems experienced by the software developers we visited. 

Table 2: Software Packages and Associated Requirements Problems: 

Software packages: Combat Identification; 
Causes: Poorly defined requirements: X; 
Causes: Late: requirements: [Empty]; 
Causes: Missing requirements: X; 
Effect: Deferred functionality: [Empty]. 

Software packages: Battle Command and Mission Execution; 
Causes: Poorly defined requirements: X; 
Causes: Late: requirements: X; Causes: Missing requirements: X; 
Effect: Deferred functionality: X. 

Software packages: Network Management System; 
Causes: Poorly defined requirements: X; 
Causes: Late: requirements: X; 
Causes: Missing requirements: X; 
Effect: Deferred functionality: X. 

Software packages: Small Unmanned Ground Vehicle; 
Causes: Poorly defined requirements: X; 
Causes: Late: requirements: X; 
Causes: Missing requirements: X; 
Effect: Deferred functionality: X. 

Software packages: Training Common Components; 
Causes: Poorly defined requirements: X; 
Causes: Late: requirements: X; 
Causes: Missing requirements: X; 
Effect: Deferred functionality: X. 

Software packages: System of Systems Common Operating Environment; 
Causes: Poorly defined requirements: X; 
Causes: Late: requirements: X; 
Causes: Missing requirements: [Empty]; 
Effect: Deferred functionality: X. 

Source: U.S. Army (data); GAO (analysis and presentation). 

Note: SOSCOE is not considered one of the software packages being 
developed by the 14 first-tier contractors. It is part of the 25 
percent of software being developed for FCS by the LSI. We include 
SOSCOE in this table to point out that problems with requirements 
effect all levels of software development, from the LSI down to the 
smallest software package developer. 

[End of table] 

As shown in table 2, four of the five software developers (and SOSCOE) 
that we met with report that the problems with requirements have 
resulted in functionality being deferred to future builds, or waived 
altogether, for the sake of keeping to the existing schedule. Deferring 
work into the future means that the associated software code writing 
and testing will take place later than planned, meaning that more code 
will be written later and the associated functionality will not be 
testable until later. These events help partially explain the growth of 
software estimates already recorded for the early builds. Furthermore, 
this indicates that less functionality than planned has been delivered 
and that software estimates will only grow larger in future builds. 
Overall, software developers told us that these problems could have 
been avoided if they had been allowed sufficient time to understand and 
analyze the requirements. This is why the aggressive pace of the 
program presents such a problem for the development effort. The current 
FCS practice is to overlap builds more than the traditional spiral 
model does, as is seen in figure 6. 

Figure 6: FCS Spiral Development Strategy and Software Life Cycle 
Reviews: 

This figure is a visual depiction of the FCS spiral development 
strategy life cycle reviews. It has lines from left to right sowing 
Build 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4. 

[See PDF for image] 

Source: U.S. Army data; GAO (analysis and presentation). 

[End of figure] 

Before the testing phase is complete on one build, the requirements 
phase of the next build will start. Program officials told us that the 
purpose of this is to set requirements so that the next build is ready 
for design by the time the former build has completed testing. In 
practice, however, this has been an issue because software developers 
report that evolving requirements have caused them to interpret and 
implement changes in requirements well into the design and code phases, 
compromising the amount of time allotted for testing. This is not to 
say that the requirements should have been defined more quickly; the 
state of requirements accurately reflects the maturity of the FCS 
program. Rather, it is the relative immaturity of the program, coupled 
with its aggressive pace, that amplify requirements instability, the 
pronounced overlap of the FCS builds and the cascading effect on 
software developers. 

Uncertainty about Network Development and Demonstration Present 
Challenges for Decisionmakers at Key Program Events: 

It is unclear if network requirements, including software to be 
developed, will be adequately defined and designs completed at the 
preliminary design review scheduled for February 2009. To date, only 
some elementary concepts of the FCS network, such as connecting and 
exchanging information among limited network nodes, have been 
demonstrated (Experiment 1.1). The first major demonstration of the FCS 
network is the limited user test scheduled for fiscal year 2012, which 
will be at least a year after the critical design review and only about 
a year before the start of FCS low-rate initial production. One of the 
key objectives of that test will be to identify the contributions and 
limitations of the network on the ability of the FCS brigade combat 
team to conduct missions across the full spectrum of operations. The 
Army hopes that test will be enough to meet the congressional 
requirement to conduct a network demonstration prior to obligating any 
funds for FCS low-rate initial production of manned vehicles. 

Unclear Picture of Network Status and Outlook at 2009 Milestone Review: 

A substantial amount of development work remains before the Army and 
LSI can demonstrate the full expected capability of the network. 
Modeling and simulation are being employed as key parts of the FCS 
network and software development process. While modeling and simulation 
is a cost effective approach for proving out technological advances 
incrementally, this approach has limitations in predicting the 
performance of first-of-kind systems. For example, commercial firms in 
the past have learned that modeling and simulation is very reliable for 
predicting the performance of products that are evolutionary advances 
over existing products, for which there is a large base of experience 
to draw from. However, it is generally understood that without 
sufficient data on past behavior and a better understanding of 
assumptions, the results of modeling and simulation may not entirely 
reflect the workings of the new or advanced systems. A number of 
limited demonstrations have been scheduled within the FCS system 
development and demonstration phase to help move the Army toward a 
network-centric environment. To date, only basic network concepts, such 
as connecting and exchanging information among limited network nodes 
have been demonstrated (Experiment 1.1). The Army plans to demonstrate 
some network functions, such as linkage with remote sensors, during the 
spinout demonstration in 2008. Other demonstrations are scheduled in 
2010 and 2012. However, the fully automated battle command system is 
not expected until 2013 when the Army envisions 100 percent of network 
capabilities such as the full networked joint and multi-national battle 
command, full interoperability and network integration with platforms, 
full sensing and targeting, full networked logistics, and planning and 
training services. This event will occur near the time of the FCS 
production decision, after the designs on manned ground vehicles have 
been established. 

At the time of the FCS milestone review in 2009, the extent of network 
demonstration is expected to be very limited. For example, the Army 
plans to demonstrate, among other basic things, sensor control, terrain 
analysis, and unmanned platform planning and operations in 2008. As 
mentioned earlier, network design and maturity are in the early stages 
as the Army and LSI are still determining what network management means 
in terms of what is needed to support each specific mission, how to 
allocate network resources to the mission spectrum, how to fuse, 
process, and present extensive FCS sensor data to appropriate users, 
and how to maintain the network. The Army is still in the midst of 
stabilizing the network and software requirements, and hardware and 
software designs are still maturing. Further, there is uncertainty 
about when the network requirements will be fully defined. More 
importantly, it is unclear, if not doubtful, that recognized technical 
risks will be reduced to acceptably low levels by the 2009 review. 

Major Demonstration of FCS Network Scheduled in 2012 after Vehicle 
Designs Are Set: 

The first major demonstration of the FCS network is limited user test 3 
scheduled for fiscal year 2012, which will be at least a year after 
critical design review and about a year before the start of low-rate 
initial production for the core FCS program scheduled to begin in 2013. 
By then, billions will have been spent and it may be too late to fix 
any network problems revealed in this significant test before 
production begins. At critical design review in 2011, the Army expects 
that the FCS network capabilities will be completed on the manned 
platform planning and operations. In section 211 of the recently 
enacted National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008, 
Congress directed that a network demonstration be conducted prior to 
obligation of funds for low-rate initial production (Milestone C) or 
full-rate production of FCS manned ground vehicles.[Footnote 14] One of 
the key objectives of that test will be to use FCS prototypes to 
identify the contributions and limitations of the network on the 
ability of the FCS brigade combat team to conduct missions across the 
full spectrum of operations. The limited user test 3 will be pivotal to 
the FCS program because it is the first test event to incorporate each 
of the 14 FCS platforms, and it serves as a seminal event to generate 
system-of-systems test data to underpin the modeling and simulation 
environment used to support the test. However, the fully automated 
battle command system is not expected until 2013 when all the software 
application capabilities are expected, including the full networked 
joint and multinational battle command, interoperability, integration 
of all platforms, integrated training, sensing and targeting, and other 
functions. 

Even if the demonstration of the network takes place in 2012 as 
planned, it will follow the design reviews of the other FCS systems. 
The design of these systems depends significantly on the performance of 
the network, such as its delivered quality of service. There are a 
number of FCS systems or platforms, such as manned ground 
vehicles,[Footnote 15] that are scheduled to have their critical design 
reviews in fiscal years 2009-2010, about 2 years before the first major 
demonstration of the network in fiscal year 2012. For manned ground 
vehicles, most developmental prototypes will be in testing and the Army 
will have begun preparation for low-rate initial production for these 
platforms before the network is demonstrated. This is a significant 
risk as the software, which supports the information network, is 
critical to the design and performance of the platforms and is expected 
to control about 95 percent of FCS's functionality. If the network 
underperforms, it could affect the lethality and survivability of the 
vehicles. Because of this sequence of events, there will be little 
opportunity for the vehicle designs to compensate for any shortfalls in 
network performance. 

Conclusions: 

The advanced information network is the linchpin to the Army's FCS 
concept; yet, it is unclear whether, how, or when the Army will be able 
to demonstrate that the network performs as needed. The Army and the 
LSI have focused a great amount of attention on the network and 
software, evidenced by the sound development practices they have 
attempted to put in place. However, network and software requirements 
are not yet stable at the system level and below, which has caused 
rework and deferred functionality. Such instability may be expected 
given the relative immaturity of FCS, but the program is halfway 
through development and the remaining schedule is very ambitious; 
program decisions have been and will continue to be made in advance of 
acquisition knowledge. Demonstrations to date have been small and not 
sufficient--nor intended--to prove the network's performance. Large- 
scale demonstrations of the network's ability to deliver the quality of 
service essential to the FCS fighting concept will not come until 2012, 
the year before the low-rate initial production decision, assuming the 
remainder of development goes as planned. Even if this date is met, it 
will trail the critical design reviews of the individual FCS systems by 
2 years. This is disquieting because the designs of the systems-- 
including the manned ground vehicles--depend on the quality of service 
delivered by the network. Finally, the overall magnitude of the FCS 
software effort has nearly tripled to 95 million lines of code. This 
growth gives credence to the higher cost estimates put forth by the 
Cost Analysis Improvement Group and the Institute for Defense Analysis-
-both of which concluded that the FCS software effort would be more 
extensive than the Army envisioned. 

For these reasons, it is essential that the software and network 
efforts be held to meeting clear performance criteria at key junctures 
that are linked to the network's needed quality of service. These 
junctures include the 2009 milestone review, the 2009-2010 vehicle 
critical design reviews, the 2011 FCS critical design review, and the 
2012 network demonstration. Allowing demonstrations or network 
functions to be deferred past these junctures on the basis that 
modeling and simulation results are promising will not suffice. Given 
the difficulty of predicting performance in full-scale operations, 
testing must be the primary basis for judging the sufficiency of 
progress. Because the performance of the network and the success of the 
software effort are not assured, decision makers should allow for the 
possibility that full success will not be achieved. Thus, it will be 
wise to keep alternative courses of action viable to guard against such 
an eventuality. 

Recommendations for Executive Action: 

We recommend that the Secretary of Defense: 

* Direct the FCS program to stabilize network and software requirements 
on each software build to enable software developers to follow 
disciplined software practices, including having realistic and 
synchronized test schedules. 

* Establish a clear set of criteria for acceptable network performance 
at each of the key program events including the: 

- 2009 milestone review, 

- platform and system-of-system critical design reviews, 

- major network demonstration in 2012, and: 

- Milestone C for core FCS program. 

We further recommend that the Secretary of Defense, in setting 
expectations for the 2009 milestone review, include: 

* a thorough analysis of network technical feasibility and risks, 

* synchronization of network development and demonstration with that of 
other elements of FCS such as the manned ground vehicles, and: 

* a reconciliation of the differences between independent and Army 
estimates of network and software development scope and cost. 

Agency Comments and Our Evaluation: 

DOD concurred with our recommendations and stated that growing the 
networking capability of the ground forces is a priority and network 
development for FCS is a critical element in the Army's effort to 
modernize its tactical network. In recognizing FCS's network 
development and importance to the Army's efforts to modernize the 
tactical network, DOD stated that criteria for network performance 
would be established. The criteria for network performance would be 
documented in the FCS acquisition strategy, the system engineering 
plan, and test plans. However, because these documents will not be 
updated until the 2009 milestone review, that could leave in question 
what will be expected in terms of network performance by the time of 
the 2009 milestone review itself. DOD should establish in advance the 
network criteria that will be applied at the 2009 milestone review, 
such as at the time of the annual review to be held in 2008. 

In concurring with our recommendation on setting expectations for the 
2009 milestone review, DOD stated that an analysis of network technical 
feasibility and risks will inform the FCS 2009 review. DOD further 
stated that manned ground vehicle and network development and 
demonstration will be synchronized and that the 2009 FCS review will 
evaluate the network and software cost estimates and cost risks 
identified for the development, integration, and testing of the FCS 
network and software. These are constructive steps that will contribute 
to the FCS milestone review in 2009. However, we believe that DOD needs 
to go beyond evaluating cost estimates and risks. The differences 
between the Army's estimate and independent cost estimates have been 
substantial. The lower Army estimate has been allowed to prevail, 
without a determination that it is the better estimate--that is, the 
one more likely to accurately predict the actual cost of FCS. DOD, in 
determining the official cost estimate for FCS, should provide the 
rationale for its position. Heretofore, the Army's estimates have been 
constrained by available funding and Army officials have stated that 
they will reduce program scope if costs are higher than expected. If 
FCS is found to be worth doing in its entirety during the 2009 
milestone review, its most likely cost should be understood. 

We also received technical comments from DOD which have been addressed 
in the report, as appropriate. 

We are sending copies of this report to the Secretary of Defense; the 
Secretary of the Army; and the Director, Office of Management and 
Budget. Copies will also be made available to others on request. In 
addition, the report will be made available at no charge on the GAO Web 
site at [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov]. 

If you, or your staff, have any questions concerning this report, 
please contact me at (202) 512-4841. Contact points for our offices of 
Congressional Relations and Public Affairs may be found on the last 
page of this report. The major contributors are listed in appendix IV. 

Signed by: 

Paul L. Francis: 

Director Acquisition and Sourcing Management: 

List of Congressional Committees: 

The Honorable Carl Levin: 
Chairman: 
The Honorable John McCain: 
Ranking Member: 
Committee on Armed Services: 
United States Senate: 

The Honorable Daniel K. Inouye: 
Chairman: 
The Honorable Ted Stevens: 
Ranking Member: 
Subcommittee on Defense: 
Committee on Appropriations: 
United States Senate: 

The Honorable Ike Skelton: 
Chairman: 
The Honorable Duncan L. Hunter: 
Ranking Member: 
Committee on Armed Services: 
House of Representatives: 

The Honorable John P. Murtha: 
Chairman: 
The Honorable C. W. (Bill) Young: 
Ranking Member: 
Subcommittee on Defense: 
Committee on Appropriations: 
House of Representatives: 

[End of section] 

Appendix I: Scope and Methodology: 

To develop the information on the Future Combat System program's 
network and software challenges and technological risks, assess whether 
disciplined software practices have been effectively implemented, and 
determine whether the Army will have the necessary network and software 
at key program events, we interviewed the Assistant Secretary of the 
Army (Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics); the Program Manager for 
the Future Combat System (Brigade Combat Team); the Future Combat 
System Lead Systems Integrator; officials from the Army's Software 
Engineering Directorate; and Lead Systems Integrator One Team 
contractors. We selected 5 of 52 software packages and conducted 
detailed structured interviews to determine how the use of the LSI's 
software best practices affected the developers at various levels 
within FCS. In consultation with the Army, LSI, University of Maryland 
(Fraunhofer Center for Experimental Software Engineering) and experts 
from GAO's Applied Research and Methods group, we selected software 
packages that are critical to FCS's network and those that would 
provide a good cross section of the development efforts being conducted 
by contractors under LSI's direction. This software included the Battle 
Command and Mission Execution, Combat Identification, Network 
Management System, Small Unmanned Ground Vehicle, and Training Common 
Components. Limited work was conducted on SOSCOE. We reviewed, among 
other documents, the Future Combat System's Integrated Master Schedule 
and CMMI Evolution, Test and Evaluation Master Plan, Software 
Configuration Management, Development, Integration, Quality Assurance, 
Risk Mitigation, and Measurement Plans. In addition to CMMI for 
Acquisition, Version 1.2, we also reviewed individual software 
developers' Software Development, Configuration Management, 
Integration, Quality Assurance, System Engineering Management, Risk and 
Opportunity Management, and Test Plans, Software Architecture 
Description Documents, and Software Requirements Specifications. We 
attended FCS Board of Director's meetings and the Delta Engineering 
Iteration 2 Definition Anchor Point and System of Systems Build 2 
Definition Checkpoint Review. In our assessment of the FCS network and 
software development, we used the knowledge-based acquisition practices 
drawn from our large body of past work as well as DOD's acquisition 
policy and the experiences of other programs. We discussed the issues 
presented in this report with officials from the Army and the Secretary 
of Defense and made changes as appropriate. We performed our review 
from July 2007 to March 2008 in accordance with generally accepted 
auditing standards. 

[End of section] 

Appendix II: Comments from the Department of Defense: 

Office Of The Under Secretary Of Defense: 
3000 Defense Pentagon: 
Washington, Dc 20301-3000: 

Acquisition, Technology And Logistics: 

February 28, 2008: 

Mr. Paul L. Francis: 
Director, Acquisition and Sourcing Management: 
U.S. Government Accountability Office: 
441 G Street, N.W.: 
Washington, DC 20548: 

Dear Mr. Francis:

This is the Department of Defense (DoD) response to the GAO draft 
report, "Defense Acquisitions: Significant Challenges Ahead in 
Developing and Demonstrating Future Combat System's Network and 
Software," dated January 31, 2008 (GAO Code 120667/GAO-08-409). 

The report recommends that the Secretary of Defense direct the Future 
Combat System (FCS) program to stabilize network and software 
requirements on each software build and establish criteria on 
acceptable network performance for each key program event. 

The Department concurs with the GAO recommendations and our comments 
are enclosed. Growing the networking capability of the ground forces is 
a Department priority and the FCS network development is a critical 
element in the Army's effort to modernize its tactical network. 
Acquisition of networking capability requires a disciplined, yet agile, 
acquisition construct. The network aspect of the FCS program is an 
important component of the periodic acquisition reviews of FCS 
conducted by the Department, including the Defense Acquisition Board 
review subsequent to the FCS preliminary design review in 2009. 
Detailed technical comments were provided separately.

Sincerely,

Signed by: 

David G. Ahern: 
Director: 
Portfolio Systems Acquisition: 

Enclosure: 
As stated: 

GAO Draft Report Dated January 31, 2008 GAO-08-409 (GAO Code 120667):  

"Defense Acquisitions: Significant Challenges Ahead In Developing And 
Demonstrating Future Combat System's Network And Software": 

Department Of Defense Comments To The GAO Recommendation: 

Recommendation 1: The GAO recommended that the Secretary of Defense 
direct the Future Combat System (FCS) program to stabilize network and 
software requirements on each software build to enable software 
developers to follow disciplined software practices, including having 
realistic and synchronized test schedules. 

DOD Response: Concur. The FCS program will finalize and release network 
and software requirements prior to each software build. The test 
schedules for each build, and for overall system network testing, will 
be documented and synchronized for realistic, informed network 
assessments. 

Recommendation 2: The GAO recommended that the Secretary of Defense, 
establish a clear set of criteria for acceptable network performance at 
each of the key program events including the following: a. 2009 
milestone review; b. platform and system-of-system critical design 
reviews; c. major network demonstration in 2012, and; d. milestone C 
for core FCS program. 

DOD Response: Concur. Criteria for network performance for key program 
events shall be established. These criteria shall be reflected in the 
appropriate program documentation. The update to the FCS Acquisition 
Strategy shall include network performance criteria for the 2009 
Defense Acquisition Board and Milestone C. The update to the FCS System 
Engineering Plan shall reflect network performance criteria anticipated 
for the platform and system-of-system critical design reviews. The 
assessment criteria for network performance shall be documented in test 
plans for test events to include the Technical Field Tests and Limited 
User Tests. 

Recommendation 3: The GAO recommended that the Secretary of Defense, in 
setting expectations for the 2009 milestone review, include: a. a 
thorough analysis of network technical feasibility and risks; b. 
synchronization of network development and demonstration with that of 
other elements of FCS such as the manned ground vehicles, and; c. a 
reconciliation of the differences between independent and Army 
estimates of network and software development scope and cost. 

DOD Response: Concur: An analysis of network technical feasibility and 
risks will inform the FCS 2009 review. Additionally, manned ground 
vehicle and network development and demonstration will be synchronized 
in the areas where there are interfaces and dependencies. The 2009 FCS 
review will evaluate the network and software cost estimates and cost 
risks identified for the development, integration, and testing of the 
FCS network and software. 

[End of section] 

Appendix III: List of FCS Software (Network & Non-network) Packages 
Developed by Contractors (as of July 2007): 

FCS contractors: (First-tier): AcuSoft, Inc; 
Number of software packages: 1; 
Name of software (network and non-network) packages: Training Common 
Components Software Suite[A]. 

FCS contractors: (First-tier): AT&T GSI; 
Number of software packages: 1; 
Name of software (network and non-network) packages: Training Common 
Components Software Suite[A]. 

FCS contractors: (First-tier): BAE Systems; 
Number of software packages: 10; 
Name of software (network and non-network) packages: Acoustic Locating 
Array Subsystem; Emitter Mapper Subsystem; Ground/Air Platform 
Communication; FCS Recovery and Maintenance Vehicle operational; 
Infantry Carrier Vehicle operational; Medical Vehicle operational; 
Common operational (all 8 manned ground vehicles); Non Line of Sight 
Cannon operational; Non Line of Sight Mortar operational; Armed Robotic 
Vehicle. 

FCS contractors: (First-tier): DRS; 
Number of software packages: 3; 
Name of software (network and non-network) packages: Short- range 
Electro-optical sensor; Small Unmanned Ground Vehicle Electro- optical 
Infrared; Class 1 Electro-optical Infrared. 

FCS contractors: (First-tier): General Dynamics; 
Number of software packages: 8; 
Name of software (network and non-network) packages: Autonomous 
Navigation System[A]; Sensor Data Management[PLANNING/PREPARATION 
SERVICES] cesa; Integrated Computer Services; Command and control 
vehicle operational; Mounted combat system operational; Reconnaissance 
and surveillance vehicle operational; Common operational (all 8 manned 
ground vehicles). 

FCS contractors: (First-tier): Honeywell; 
Number of software packages: 5; 
Name of software (network and non-network) packages: Vehicle Management 
Computer; Board Support Package (for Vehicle Management Computer, 
Psuedo-integrated Computer System, & vehicle simulation); Platform 
Soldier Readiness System[A]. 

FCS contractors: (First-tier): IBM; 
Number of software packages: 3; 
Name of software (network and non-network) packages: Logistics Data 
Agent[A] ; Logical Data Manager[A]; Logistics Data Management 
Service[A]. 

FCS contractors: (First-tier): iRobot; 
Number of software packages: 2; 
Name of software (network and non-network) packages: Small Unmanned 
Ground Vehicle operational and Small Unmanned Ground Vehicle modeling 
and simulation. 

FCS contractors: (First-tier): Lockheed Martin; 
Number of software packages: 5; 
Name of software (network and non-network) packages: Warfighter 
Centralized Controller Device[A] ; Common Electro- Optical Sensor; 
Level 1 Fusion[A]; Training Common Components Software Suite[A]; 
Vehicle Control, Mobility control, weapons control, power service, 
vehicle management. 

FCS contractors: (First-tier): Northrop Grumman; 
Number of software packages: 5; 
Name of software (network and non-network) packages: Class IV Unmanned 
Aerial Vehicle; Logistics Decision Support System-Manned Ground 
Vehicle[A] ; Air Sensor Integration[A]; Aided Target Recognition; 
Network Management[A]. 

FCS contractors: (First-tier): Overwatch Systems; 
Number of software packages: 1; 
Name of software (network and non-network) packages: Situation 
Understanding[A]. 

FCS contractors: (First-tier): Raytheon; 
Number of software packages: 5; 
Name of software (network and non-network) packages: Ground Sensor 
Integrator[A] ; Combat Identification[A]; Multi-function radio 
frequency; Common Electro-Optical Sensor; Battle Command and Mission 
Execution[A]. 

FCS contractors: (First-tier): SAIC; 
Number of software packages: 1; 
Name of software (network and non-network) packages: Training Common 
Components Software Suite[A]. 

FCS contractors: (First-tier): Textron; 
Number of software packages: 2; 
Name of software (network and non-network) packages: Tactical and Urban 
Ground Sensors; Unattended Ground Sensors. 

FCS contractors: (First-tier): Total: 14; 
Number of software packages: Total: 52; 
Name of software (network and non-network) packages: [Empty]. 

Source: U.S. Army (data); GAO (analysis and presentation). 

[A] Software packages expected to provide partial or full networking 
functions. 

[End of table] 

[End of section] 

Appendix IV: GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments: 

GAO Contact: 

Paul L. Francis (202) 512-4841 or [email protected]: 

Acknowledgments: 

In addition to the individual named above, William R. Graveline, 
Assistant Director; John M. Ortiz Jr; Letisha T. Watson; Helena Brink; 
Noah B. Bleicher; Robert S. Swierczek; and Senior Technologists Madhav 
S. Panwar and Dr. Hai V. Tran made key contributions to this report. 

[End of section] 

Related GAO Products: 

Defense Acquisitions: Role of Lead Systems Integrator on Future Combat 
Systems Program Poses Oversight Challenges. GAO-07-380. Washington, 
D.C.: June 6, 2007. 

Defense Acquisitions: Future Combat System Risks Underscore the 
Importance of Oversight. GAO-07-672T. Washington, D.C.: March 27, 2007. 

Defense Acquisitions: Key Decisions to Be Made on Future Combat System. 
GAO-07-376. Washington, D.C.: March 15, 2007. 

Defense Acquisitions: The Army Faces Challenges in Developing a 
Tactical Networking Strategy. GAO-07-10SU. Washington, D.C.: 

October 4, 2006. 

Defense Acquisitions: Restructured JTRS Program Reduces Risk, but 
Significant Challenges Remain. GAO-06-955. Washington, D.C.: September 
11, 2006. 

Defense Acquisitions: Improved Business Case Key for Future Combat 
System's Success. GAO-06-564T. Washington, D.C.: April 4, 2006. 

Defense Acquisitions: Assessments of Selected Weapon Programs. GAO-07- 
406SP. Washington, D.C.: March 30, 2007. 

Defense Acquisitions: Improved Business Case is Needed for Future 
Combat System's Successful Outcome. GAO-06-367. Washington, D.C.: March 
14, 2006. 

Defense Acquisitions: Business Case and Business Arrangements Key for 
Future Combat System's Success. GAO-06-478T. Washington, D.C.: March 1, 
2006. 

Defense Acquisitions: Resolving Development Risks in the Army's 
Networked Communications Capabilities is Key to Fielding Future Force. 
GAO-05-669. Washington, D.C.: June 15, 2005. 

Defense Acquisitions: Future Combat Systems Challenges and Prospects 
for Success. GAO-05-428T. Washington, D.C.: March 16, 2005. 

Defense Acquisitions: Future Combat Systems Challenges and Prospects 
for Success. GAO-05-442T. Washington, D.C.: March 16, 2005. 

Defense Acquisitions: The Global Information Grid and Challenges Facing 
Its Implementation. GAO-04-858. Washington, D.C.: July 28, 2004. 

Defense Acquisitions: The Army's Future Combat Systems' Features, 
Risks, and Alternatives. GAO-04-635T. Washington, D.C.: April 1, 2004. 

Defense Acquisitions: Stronger Management Practices Are Needed to 
Improve DOD's Software-Intensive Weapon Acquisitions. GAO-04-393. 
Washington, D.C.: March 1, 2004. 

Issues Facing the Army's Future Combat Systems Program. GAO-03-1010R. 
Washington, D.C.: August 13, 2003. 

Defense Acquisitions: Army Transformation Faces Weapon Systems 
Challenges. GAO-01-311. Washington, D.C.: May 2001. 

Best Practices: Better Matching of Needs and Resources Will Lead to 
Better Weapon System Outcomes. GAO-01-288. Washington, D.C.: March 8, 
2001. 

[End of section] 

Footnotes: 

[1] Pub. L. No. 109-163, ï¿½ 211 (2006). 

[2] GAO, Defense Acquisitions: 2009 Is a Critical Juncture for the 
Army's Future Combat System. GAO-08-408 (Washington, D.C.: Mar. 7, 
2008). 

[3] A mobile ad-hoc network is an autonomous collection of mobile users 
that communicate over relatively bandwidth-constrained wireless links. 
Since the nodes are mobile, the network topology may change rapidly and 
unpredictably over time. The network is decentralized, meaning all 
network activity including discovering the topology and delivering 
messages must be executed by the nodes themselves (i.e., routing 
functions will be incorporated into mobile nodes). In a military 
environment such as FCS, ensuring security and reliability are major 
concerns. Military networks are designed to maintain a low probability 
of intercept and/or a low probability of detection. Hence, nodes are to 
radiate as little power as necessary and transmit as infrequently as 
possible, thus decreasing the probability of detection or interception. 
A lapse in any of these requirements may degrade the performance and 
dependability of the network. 

[4] Bandwidth is a term used in much of the telecommunications industry 
as a measure, usually expressed in bits per second, of the rate at 
which information moves from one electronic device to another. 

[5] The Warfighter Machine Interface software is to be part of manned 
systems and warfighter or soldier systems only. 

[6] The Global Information Grid is a large and complex set of programs 
and initiatives intended to provide Internet-like capability allowing 
users at virtually any location to access data on demand, share 
information in real time, and collaborate in decision making, 
regardless of which military service produced which weapon system, thus 
having greater joint command of a battle situation. 

[7] A waveform is the representation of a signal that includes the 
frequency, modulation type, message format, and/or transmission system. 
In general usage, the term waveform refers to a known set of 
characteristics, for example, frequency bands (VHF, HF, and UHF), 
modulation techniques (FM, AM), message standards, and transmission 
systems. In JTRS usage, the term waveform is used to describe the 
entire set of radio functions that occur from the user input to the RF 
output and vise versa. A JTRS waveform is implemented as a reusable, 
portable, executable software application that is independent of the 
JTRS operating system, middleware, and hardware. 

[8] FCS Program Office, "Network Quality of Service Analysis (SDD-129): 
System of Systems Engineering and Integration, Document Number: D786- 
11421-1, July 28, 2005. 

[9] SLOC measures the raw size of software. 

[10] ESLOC is a surrogate for effort that measures the effective size 
of reused and adapted code, and is adjusted to its equivalent size in 
new lines of code. This is not a deliverable product. 

[11] ESLOC data in Build 1 is a cumulative total that includes ESLOCs 
from Build 0. 

[12] In 1987, the U.S. Air Force selected Ogden Air Logistics Center at 
Hill Air Force Base in Ogden, Utah, to establish and operate its 
Software Technology Support Center to provide assistance to help 
organizations identify, evaluate, and adopt software technologies that 
improve software product quality, production efficiency and 
predictability. Today, the Center provides services to include, among 
others, software acquisition best practice support for government 
organizations, and process maturity appraisals and technology adoption 
projects across five Air Force major commands, the Navy, the Department 
of Defense, and the U.S. Treasury Department. The Center also publishes 
a free journal called CrossTalk, The Journal of Defense Software 
Engineering to more than 24,000 professionals on practical software 
engineering technologies and best practices. 

[13] CMMIï¿½ (Capability Maturity Modelï¿½ Integration) is a collection of 
best practices that helps organizations improve their processes. It was 
initially developed by product teams from industry, government and the 
Software Engineering Institute for application to process improvement 
in the development of products and services covering the entire product 
life cycle from conceptualization through maintenance and disposal. 
Following the success of CMMI models for development organizations, the 
need was identified for a CMMI model addressing the acquisition 
environment. 

[14] Pub. L. No. 110-181, ï¿½ 211 (2008). 

[15] FCS manned ground vehicles includes infantry carrier vehicles, non-
line of sight cannon, mounted combat system, reconnaissance and 
surveillance vehicles, command and control vehicles, non-line of sight 
mortar, and support vehicles. 

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