Why Buy Foreign?
tested in 2009 for warfighter use.
First and foremost, the United States doesn’t develop all that U.S. warfighters need. For example, U.S. special operators needed a shoulder- launched, bunker-buster that could be fired in confined spaces. The United States didn’t have such a weapon, but Sweden did. The Foreign Comparative Testing program found and tested the AT-4CS, which has been widely used in Afghanistan and Iraq.
There’s another reason that defense needs such foreign products: They fill a war fighting gap fast. Years aren’t spent inventing and refining technology. It’s just a matter of assessing the product for its ability to meet war fighting needs. Marine tankers needed an imaging unit that allowed them to view targets without keeping one eye on a sight. The Foreign Comparative Testing program found and tested a Britishdeveloped image control unit. Within a year after testing started, it was on Marine tanks in Iraq.
DoD also doesn’t spend money developing such foreign products. They were developed on someone else’s euro, pound, rand or dollar. Over a decade ago, defense bought a French-developed ground console unit and integrated it into a transportable ground station called Eagle Vision. It downloads and processes commercial satellite imagery, which U.S. and coalition forces have used in Kosovo, Iraq, Afghanistan and disaster relief for Hurricane Katrina and the Pacific tsunami. Had defense developed the system, it would have cost an estimated $30 million.
And a foreign product just might offer a better way of doing things. A U.K.-developed aerial refueling system provided U.S. special operations’ C-130s with a new ability to simultaneously refuel two in-flight aircraft, pumping at least 150 gallons per minute to each. Procurement of the system also saved DoD $40 million in research, development, testing and evaluation, as well as one year in fielding time.
For many, there’s a surprising benefit from bringing foreign products to the United States: jobs. The Marine Corps procured environmentally friendly training ammunition for its grenade launchers, developed by Germany’s Rheinmetall. The company set up production in the United States, which the Foreign Comparative Testing program requires whenever possible. This created approximately 100 jobs in the United States, not including those enabled by construction of new facilities.
Moreover, foreign products have helped make some American companies, even allowing them to sell improved products to other countries. Before 1997, the South Carolina-based Force Protection Inc. didn’t exist. However, the company was licensed to manufacture the South African-developed, bomb-handling Buffalo, after it was successfully evaluated for U.S. use in 2002. Today, the company produces several blast-resistant vehicles for the United States as well as the United Kingdom.
But here’s the biggest reason for buying already-developed foreign technologies that U.S. warfighters can use. Referring to the Buffalo used throughout Afghanistan and Iraq, one U.S. Army sergeant stated, “That giant armored beast is no doubt saving lives.”
ADDING VALUE
DoD’s Comparative Testing Office rapidly finds and funds testing of already-developed technologies for war fighting use. The office’s Foreign Comparative Testing program focuses on international technologies. Its Defense Acquisition Challenge program searches for and tests U.S. technologies. If successfully evaluated, the technologies are procured and fielded in one to three years. Such initiatives have provided special operators with enhanced fly-away satellite communications; a gunfire detection/location system; and a C-130 refueling system, which refuels two aircraft at once.
The office recently announced the following testing projects for 2009:
FOREIGN COMPARATIVE TESTING PROGRAM
Precision sniper rifles from Canada, the United Kingdom and Finland: can engage enemy personnel out to 1,500 meters, and may give special operators greater standoff distance and thus survivability.
Enhanced fuze for 70 mm multipurpose penetrating warhead from Norway: may enable U.S. special operations Little Bird helicopter pilots to change delay settings on the 70 mm rocket warhead in flight, allowing engagement of wider range of targets.
Submersible, multifuel outboard engines from Italy: an airassisted direct-injection fuel delivery system used on commercial off-the-shelf, lightweight, submersible outboard engines. It may meet DoD safe-fuel requirements and an urgent special operations need to replace submersible outboard engines for combat rubber raiding craft by 2010.
Training system for U.S. special operators’ Carl Gustaf 84 mm anti-armor and anti-personnel weapon from Sweden and Germany: consists of 20 mm round with subcaliber training adapter, providing a realistic blow-back feel to shooter.
COSMO-SkyMed constellation for Defense Intelligence Agency from Italy: a commercial satellite constellation, which may provide high-resolution images from sub-meter range to several tens of meters with download, processing, distributing and archiving
M1A1 tank crew cooling systems from Israel, Canada and Sweden: may reduce temperatures in Marine Corps tanks, which can be over 140 degrees Fahrenheit. Ultimately, this would reduce heat-related illness and battle fatigue, and improve tank crew performance.
Low-cost/reliable generator control unit for H-53 helicopters from Germany: used on German CH-53G helicopters with high reliability and predictable support costs; may increase time between failures from 640 to 16,000 hours on Marine helicopters
Improved speed sensor for U.S. Navy ships and submarines from the United Kingdom: Royal Navy ships use an improved advanced composite rodmeter, which may provide more accurate readings and improved navigation command and control for U.S. ships.
Insensitive munitions improvement for light armored weapon from Norway, the United Kingdom and Sweden: may improve safety of the Marine Corps 66 mm light anti-armor weapon, which is currently not insensitive munition-compliant
25 mm round for F-35/joint strike fighter from Switzerland: a multipurpose, frangible, penetrating round that may be used to engage hard and soft targets, in keeping with mission profile for the U.S. Air Force’s Joint Strike Fighter
Pyrolysis solid waste disposal and energy recovery from United Kingdom: may allow U.S. Army to thermally destroy solid, oil and medical waste at forward bases; can also convert heat to energy to run generators, reducing fuel needs
Improved photonics mast for U.S. Navy submarines from Germany, France and the United Kingdom: These modular masts with high definition TV capability may correct reliability issues with current systems on Virginia- and Ohio-class submarines.
DEFENSE ACQUISITION CHALLENGE PROGRAM
Improved viper strike precision guided missile: may increase this missile’s field of view, enabling it to better strike fleeing targets; may provide more jam-resistant GPS with 24, vice 12, channels; and may reduce unit cost and increase production rates
Next generation night vision imaging for visual augmentation system: low-light camera components potentially for next generation of special operations’ ground mobility visual augmentation systems and handheld imagers; may improve resolution, processing and target identification; and may increase production and lower unit cost
Special operation forces trauma management set: potentially for SOF medical emergency response facilities; may be used to stabilize and sustain casualties in remote areas where evacuation to appropriate medical facilities is unavailable
Handheld total fluid condition monitor: may provide special operations aviation with real-time assessments of lubrication and hydraulic fluids, eliminating shipping of samples to labs for analysis; may also increase aircraft readiness and safety
M1A1 sniper detection system: may be used by U.S. Marine Corps tank crews and infantry, encountering deadly and demoralizing enemy sniper fire
Shockwave therapy for traumatic wounds and burns of extremities: Being tested by U.S. Army, this device may rapidly treat warfighters’ difficult-to-heal, soft tissue wounds in a simple, anesthesia-free, non-invasive manner.
Portable electrical power supply for aeromedical evacuations: Undergoing U.S. Air Force testing, this lightweight, hydrogen fuel cell can be mounted on a stretcher to power medical equipment during medevacs.
Digital solid state combat display for the Phalanx weapons system: Being tested by the U.S. Navy, this may improve performance of Phalanx weapon operators, allowing them see full range of thermal image enhancements and increasing target discrimination. Expeditionary water packaging system: may be used by U.S. Marines to address safety issues with unregulated, bottled water distribution as well as its high logistics costs.
Advanced infrared expendable decoy: may protect U.S. Air Force C-130, F-16 and A-10 aircraft from current and emerging IR threats Intelligent power management and distribution system: may meet U.S. Army’s electrical and environmental needs for tactical operations centers; also may reduce setup times for power grids, improve safety and enable generators’ more efficient fuel use.
Uniform repair patch kit: Undergoing Army testing, this may provide soldiers with means of patching field uniforms, without sewing, and still maintain uniforms’ fire resistant integrity. It may extend uniform reliability by 50 percent or more. ♦