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	Director, Operational Test & Evaluation
FY97 Annual Report

GLOBAL COMBAT SUPPORT SYSTEM -
AIR FORCE (GCSS-AF)

	Air Force ACAT IAM Program ~200 bases Total program cost (TY$) $251M Average unit cost (TY$) $1.3M Full-rate production 4QFY98 Prime Contractor Lockheed Martin Federal Systems

SYSTEM DESCRIPTION & CONTRIBUTION TO JOINT VISION 2010

GCSS-AF is tasked to upgrade existing software applications to provide Air Force decision makers critical, concise, timely , accurate, economical, and relevant information on a wide range of functional areas. GCSS-AF is an evolutionary, incremental development covering numerous support applications spread across 13 functional areas such as maintenance, supply, and transportation.

GCSS-AF will incrementally modernize the software portion of selected standard base-level AISs to reside on a Common Operating Environment in support of users at all Air Force active duty, Reserve, and Guard sites worldwide. AIS modernization will be accomplished application by application. The COE will consist of a uniform set of development and runtime software applications and services necessary to meet system requirements. As such, GCSS-AF primarily concerns software which will be designed to run on open systems hardware available from existing Government contracts.

Implementation onto an open systems environment will enable current "stove pipe" AISs supporting the wing mission to be integrated at the data level.

GCSS-AF supports JV2010 indirectly by providing a broad-based integrated platform for an improved capability for focused logistics.

GCSS-AF is the second phase of an umbrella program to modernize standard base-level AISs which began as the Base Level System Modernization (BLSM) program in 1989. The program was redesignated as GCSS-AF and designated a MAISRC program on January 25, 1994. In December of that year the first portion of that program (BLSM I) was delegated to Air Force approval with the current portion (BLSM II) continuing on OSD level oversight resulting in a Milestone 0/I on 15 September 1995, and a Milestone II on August 15, 1996. Contract award was made at that time.

GCSS-AF will pursue three types of modernization on existing AISs: functional; technical; and, rehost. Functional modernization will be performed on an AIS when new functionality or changes in end-user business practices are needed and cost effective, using the procedures of business process re-engineering to field a completely redesigned system. Technical modernization is the re-engineering of an existing software application without business process improvement. Rehosting will occur when an AIS is already technically modernized and is essentially the porting of usable code from one operating system to another.

The first increment of GCSS-AF includes the rehosting of four systems (Manpower Data Systems, Logistics Module, Air Force Operations Resource Management System, and Cargo Movement Operations System) and the functional modernization of the current supply system with the goal of IOC by December 1998. DOT&E's focus during rehost will be to assure no capability is lost through this process. Additional increments will modernize numerous additional AISs through a combination of functional, technical, and rehost modernization.

GCSS-AF is currently absorbing the Integrated Maintenance Data System (IMDS) and is looking at a fully-integrated Combat Support Information System to arise over time from the merging of the two systems.

Test activity is currently limited to test planning and test documentation preparation. The major issue is the PMOs inability to define the core requirements for the IMDS portion of GCSS-AF. The PMO has stated that Increment 2 of IMDS represents core functionality but still does not meet user needs. DOT&E expects a full OT&E through Increment 3 of IMDS until all required functionality has been satisfied.

The PMO is continually revising the test strategy. DOT&E is working with the PMO to develop an acceptable strategy. History has shown that the largest risk in this program will be the changes required in the business processes which are needed to exploit the new computer technologies.