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The Role of R&D in an Acquisition Program

Dasch JM

The U.S. Army has a poor reputation for bringing new ground vehicles from the Science and Technology (S&T) phase to deployment. However, a counterexample is the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV), which successfully passed through the acquisition gauntlet. The Research and Development (R&D) forerunner to the JLTV was the Future Tactical Truck System (FTTS) Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration (ACTD) that was initiated with TARDEC serving in the role of Technology Developer. Two utility variant prototypes were built as part of that program and were evaluated in a Military User Assessment in 2007. PM JLTV was stood up in 2006 and adopted technologies and personnel from the FTTS program. Both the organizational construct and the use of prototypes early on in the vehicle development cycle are considered key successes of the JLTV program, particularly the close collaboration of the PM with other groups including the OSD, TRADOC, and ASA(ALT) as well as their counterparts in the USMC. This paper documents the important role of R&D in the acquisition process.