Apache Longbow Helicopter: Fire Control Radar Not Ready for Multiyear
Procurement (Letter Report, 11/17/97, GAO/NSIAD-98-11).

GAO reviewed the Army's plans to award a multiyear contract for the
Apache Longbow Helicopter's fire control radar in December 1997,
focusing on determining whether the fire control radar design is stable
and ready for multiyear contract award.

GAO found that: (1) the award of a multiyear contract for the Apache
Longbow fire control radar is inappropriate until the Army has completed
development of the radar transmitter's design and tests to demonstrate
its performance; (2) under 10 U.S.C. 2306(b), before awarding a
multiyear contract, the design of the system should be stable; however,
the radar's transmitter, a key component, is being redesigned; (3) the
original transmitter may not complete qualification testing and the
redesigned transmitter's performance will not be demonstrated before the
contract is awarded; (4) in a previous report, GAO expressed concern
about the stability of the transmitter's design and concluded that the
radar would not be ready for the planned multiyear procurement; and (5)
however, the Army still plans to proceed with the multiyear contract.

--------------------------- Indexing Terms -----------------------------

 REPORTNUM:  NSIAD-98-11
     TITLE:  Apache Longbow Helicopter: Fire Control Radar Not Ready for 
             Multiyear Procurement
      DATE:  11/17/97
   SUBJECT:  Army procurement
             Radar equipment
             Helicopters
             Advanced weapons systems
             Concurrency
             Multi-year procurement
             Air warfare
             Testing
IDENTIFIER:  Longbow Apache Fire Control Radar
             Longbow Apache Helicopter
             Hellfire Missile
             
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Cover
================================================================ COVER


Report to the Secretary of Defense

November 1997

APACHE LONGBOW HELICOPTER - FIRE
CONTROL RADAR NOT READY FOR
MULTIYEAR PROCUREMENT

GAO/NSIAD-98-11

Apache Longbow Helicopter

(707238)


Abbreviations
=============================================================== ABBREV

  DOD - Department of Defense

Letter
=============================================================== LETTER


B-276448

November 17, 1997

The Honorable William S.  Cohen
The Secretary of Defense

Dear Mr.  Secretary: 

The Army plans to award a multiyear contract for the Apache Longbow
helicopter's fire control radar in December 1997.  We reviewed the
Apache Longbow program to determine if the fire control radar design
is stable and ready for multiyear contract award. 


   BACKGROUND
------------------------------------------------------------ Letter :1

The Longbow is a modification of the Apache helicopter that consists
of an upgraded airframe, a newly developed radar, and the Longbow
Hellfire missile.  The Apache Longbow is designed to conduct
precision attacks in adverse weather conditions, automatically engage
multiple targets, provide fire-and-forget missile capability, and
operate on the digital battlefield of the future.  The radar, the key
component of the Longbow, is designed to provide the helicopter with
the capability to automatically detect, classify, and prioritize
targets. 

In 1991, the Army planned to develop and procure 227 Longbow Apache
helicopters.  In May 1993, the program was restructured to upgrade
the entire fleet of 758 helicopters to the Apache Longbow
configuration but outfit only 227 with the fire control radar and a
more powerful 701C engine.  Full-rate production of both the Apache
Longbow airframe and fire control radar was authorized in October
1995.  The first contract for 10 fire control radars (lot 1) was
awarded in March 1996, and the second contract was finalized in
January 1997 for an additional 11 radars (lot 2).  The Army plans to
award a multiyear contract for the fire control radar in December
1997. 


   RESULTS IN BRIEF
------------------------------------------------------------ Letter :2

Under 10 U.S.C.  2306b, before awarding a multiyear contract, the
design of the system should be stable.  The radar's transmitter, a
critical component, is being redesigned.  Additionally, DOD
regulations require that qualification test and evaluation be
completed prior to the full-rate production decision.  The original
transmitter may not complete qualification testing and the redesigned
transmitter's performance will not be demonstrated before the
contract is awarded.  In our January 1997 letter to you, we expressed
our concern about the stability of the transmitter's design and
concluded that the radar would not be ready for the planned multiyear
procurement.\1 Our review confirmed this conclusion; however, the
Army still plans to proceed with the multiyear contract.  Award of
the multiyear contract should be delayed until all statutory and
regulatory requirements are met. 


--------------------
\1 Apache Longbow Fire Control Radar (GAO/NSIAD-97-97R, Jan.  27,
1997). 


   MULTIYEAR CONTRACT FOR FIRE
   CONTROL RADAR IS INAPPROPRIATE,
   AS PLANNED
------------------------------------------------------------ Letter :3

The fire control radar's transmitter has had development problems,
and parts will not be available for a full production run of the
original transmitter; therefore, it is being redesigned.  However,
the contractor has experienced delays in redesigning the radar's
transmitter and, consequently, does not yet have a prototype.  As a
result, the actual design of the radar's transmitter is not stable,
and its performance will not be known when the scheduled multiyear
contract is awarded.  Since the design of the radar is not yet
stable, multiyear contract approval will occur without meeting the
statutory requirement. 

In our January 1997 letter, we expressed concerns about the
performance of the Apache Longbow's fire control radar, particularly
the transmitter.  We noted that (1) the transmitter was being
redesigned, (2) the lot 2 contract unit production costs had doubled
from the original estimate, and (3) the lack of a stable radar design
could increase logistics support costs due to two differently
configured transmitters.  We asked whether the contract for the lot 2
fire control radar contract would be delayed and, if not, what
actions would the Department of Defense (DOD) take to ensure that our
concerns were resolved before awarding the contract.  DOD responded
that it did not direct the Army to delay the award of the lot 2
contract because it believed that current program management
oversight, combined with the Integrated Product Team process, was
adequate to address all of our concerns. 

According to the Apache Longbow project manager, while the radar was
approved for full-rate production in October 1995, it was apparent to
the program office that it would need time to resolve problems with
the radar's design.  As we noted in our January 1997 letter, some of
the radar transmitter's electrical components, such as diodes and
amplifiers, did not perform well in cold temperatures.  In addition,
to achieve the required output, the current transmitter must undergo
time-consuming and costly manual integration efforts.  Also,
suppliers informed the fire control radar's manufacturer in 1995 that
they would no longer provide critical transmitter components.  To
improve performance and address parts availability and cost problems,
the Army determined in November 1995 that the radar's transmitter had
to be redesigned.  The program office has now scheduled the radar's
full-rate production to occur with award of the multiyear contract. 

DOD regulations require that qualification test and evaluation be
completed prior to the full-rate production decision.  Qualification
tests require that a system satisfactorily demonstrate performance as
specified in the production contract.  As early as 1993, the Army
realized the program contained a high degree of production risk
because of the possible need to redesign and requalify the fire
control radar's components.  The Army acknowledged that this concern
would not be completely resolved until all qualification tests were
completed.  However, the original transmitter may not complete
qualification testing prior to the multiyear contract award, and the
redesigned transmitter is not scheduled for qualification tests until
December 1998, over 3 years after full-rate production of the radar
was authorized.  According to contractor officials, this performance
demonstration could be delayed until early 1999. 

The contractor has experienced delays in developing the radar's
redesigned transmitter and, therefore, does not yet have a prototype. 
Because a prototype of the redesigned transmitter was not ready,
bench testing scheduled for March and then June 1997 did not occur. 
In addition, the redesigned transmitter will not be available for the
government's first article test,\2 scheduled to begin in March 1998;
therefore, the Army plans to use the original transmitter for these
tests.  Because approximately 85 percent of the fire control radars
will be equipped with the redesigned transmitter, first article test
results using the original transmitter will not provide an adequate
basis for assessing the radar's performance.  Although the current
transmitter does not include the fixes from the redesign, the Army
still plans to use it in the event further delays occur in the
development and testing of the redesigned transmitter. 


--------------------
\2 First article testing comprises preproduction and initial
production tests to ensure that the contractor can furnish a product
that meets the established technical criteria. 


   RECOMMENDATION
------------------------------------------------------------ Letter :4

Because the redesigned transmitter will be used in approximately 85
percent of the Apache Longbow's fire control radars, we recommend
that the Secretary of Defense direct the Secretary of the Army to
delay the award of the multiyear contract until the radar has
successfully passed testing as required by the regulations and the
design is stable as required by 10 U.S.C.  2306(b). 


   AGENCY COMMENTS AND OUR
   EVALUATION
------------------------------------------------------------ Letter :5

In commenting on a draft of this report, DOD nonconcurred with our
recommendation.  DOD informed us that the Army plans to test a
prototype of the redesigned transmitter in November and December 1997
to verify the compatibility and functionality of the transmitter with
other components of the radar and that lot acceptance testing will be
completed in December 1998.  According to DOD, this test and
evaluation approach and the projected $80 million savings from the
multiyear contract are in the best interest of the government.  DOD
noted that the transmitter represents only 2 percent of the fire
control radar's total parts and does not jeopardize the design
stability of the fire control radar or the Longbow Apache weapon
system.  Further, DOD stated that we are incorrect in asserting that
the Army has not met the statutory requirement for a stable design
prior to multiyear contract approval.  According to DOD officials,
the redesign effort is only a procedure to requalify an
out-of-production part. 

It now appears that DOD will delay award of the multiyear contract. 
According to DOD officials, the contract that was originally
scheduled to be awarded in November 1997 will now be awarded after
completion of the functionality testing in December 1997.  However,
the Army's plan does not satisfy the lot 2 contract and regulatory
requirements for testing.  The lot 2 fire control radar production
contract specifically requires qualification testing of the
redesigned transmitter.  As we noted in the report, qualification and
first article testing validate that a component can operate in an
integrated system environment.  However, neither DOD's planned
November-December testing nor its planned first article test will
achieve these purposes.  The first time that the redesigned
transmitter will be tested in a system environment is during the
December 1998 qualification tests. 

We are not persuaded by DOD's assertion regarding the significance of
the transmitter to the design stability of the radar or Apache
Longbow weapon system.  Although the transmitter represents only 2
percent of the part count for the radar, proper functioning of the
transmitter is critical to the performance of the weapon system.  The
transmitter is the critical component of the radar, which is the
single critical distinction between the Apache Longbow and the
original Apache helicopter.  If the transmitter does not work, the
fire control radar will not provide the helicopter with the
capability to automatically detect, classify, and prioritize targets
in adverse weather conditions. 

Also, we do not agree that this effort is only a procedure to
requalify an out-of-production part.  The original transmitter has
not completed and may not complete full qualification testing prior
to award of the contract.  In addition, the redesigned transmitter
has not and will not be subjected to qualification testing until 1
year after the multiyear contract award.  It is only through
qualification testing that the Army can be assured that the
redesigned transmitter performs as required in an integrated system
environment.  Therefore, we continue to believe that the multiyear
contract should be delayed until the radar has successfully passed
first article and qualification tests with the redesigned
transmitter.  DOD's detailed comments are reprinted in appendix I. 


   SCOPE AND METHODOLOGY
------------------------------------------------------------ Letter :6

To determine whether the Apache Longbow fire control radar design was
stable and whether it was ready for multiyear contract award
originally scheduled for November 1997, we reviewed various program
documents related to the development and acquisition of the Apache
Longbow fire control radar.  We interviewed cognizant officials at
the Program Office for Aviation; the Apache Attack Helicopter Project
Management Office; and the Office of the Executive Director, Aviation
Research, Development, and Engineering Center, at the Army's Aviation
and Troop Command,
St.  Louis, Missouri; the Office of the Secretary of the Army for
Research, Development, and Acquisition, Washington, D.C.; and the
U.S.  Army Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and
Plans, Washington, D.C.  We also interviewed officials from Lockheed
Martin, Longbow Limited Liability Company, and Northrop Grumman,
manufacturers of the fire control radar, in Orlando, Florida.  In
addition, we obtained documentation from the Defense Contract
Management Command located at McDonnell Douglas Helicopter Systems,
Mesa, Arizona. 

To determine whether Apache Longbow fire control radar performance
requirements would be met and operational capabilities demonstrated,
we reviewed relevant Army, contractor, and DOD documents.  These
included the Defense Acquisition Executive Summaries, contractor's
Fire Control Radar Program Progress Review, and the Apache Longbow's
Operational Requirements Document.  We also discussed performance and
capability requirements with cognizant Army officials in St.  Louis,
Missouri, and Washington, D.C. 

We conducted our review from February through August 1997 in
accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards. 


---------------------------------------------------------- Letter :6.1

As you know, the head of a federal agency is required by 31 U.S.C. 
720 to submit a written statement of actions taken on our
recommendations to the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs and
the House Committee on Government Reform and Oversight not later than
60 days after the date of this report.  A written statement also must
be submitted to the Senate and House Committees on Appropriations
with the agency's first request for appropriations made more than 60
days after the date of the report. 

We are sending copies of this report to the Chairmen and Ranking
Minority Members, Senate and House Committees on Appropriations,
Senate Committee on Armed Services, Senate Committee on Governmental
Affairs, House Committee on National Security, and House Committee on
Government Reform and Oversight; the Secretary of the Army; and the
Director, Office of Management and Budget.  We will also provide
copies to others upon request. 

Please contact me at (202) 512-4841 if you or your staff have any
questions concerning this report.  Major contributors to this report
were
Robert J.  Stolba, Charles Burgess, Richard Burrell, and Nora
Landgraf. 

Sincerely yours,

Louis J.  Rodrigues
Director, Defense Acquisitions Issues




(See figure in printed edition.)Appendix I
COMMENTS FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF
DEFENSE
============================================================== Letter 



(See figure in printed edition.)

*** End of document. ***