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	Director, Operational Test & Evaluation
	FY98 Annual Report

SYSTEM DESCRIPTION & CONTRIBUTION TO JOINT VISION 2010

The Command and Control Vehicle (C2V) is designed to provide a highly mobile, survivable, and reconfigurable platform capable of hosting current and future command, control, communications, computer, and intelligence (C4I) systems for operational planning use by battalion through corps battle staffs in heavy force operations. The C2V is expected to directly support the Joint Vision 2010 concept of information superiority for battalion through corps leaders, with a resulting improvement in the employment of a dominant maneuver force.

The C2V is an armored, tracked command post vehicle that will house and transport C4I equipment on the battlefield with workspace for four staff officers plus a two-man crew. The C2V will enable command and control mission functions during mobile operations by allowing command post platforms to be positioned at critical locations throughout the battlefield. This system will selectively replace the basic M577 Carrier, Command Post Light, and its M1068 upgrade, which are both considered to have inadequate power, speed, mobility, survivability, and internal operating space. The C2V is mounted on a modified M993 Multiple Launch Rocket System chassis, and is powered by the 600-horsepower drive-train in use by the M2A2 Bradley Fighting Vehicle.

The program has two material developers: (1) the Program Executive Officer for Command, Control, and Communications Systems, responsible for the hardware and software for the computer workstations in the vehicle; and (2) the Program Executive Officer for Ground Combat and Support Systems, responsible for the vehicle and local area network wiring.

The C2V program is under DOT&E oversight for both OT&E and LFT&E. The C2V TEMP was approved in October 1993 and was updated in March 1994 following a December 1993 Milestone II decision. The LFT&E strategy was approved in July 1996 but contained an open issue regarding the applicability of explosively formed penetrators as a threat munition to the system. This issue was resolved during FY98 as noted below.

The C2V participated as an initiative during the 1997 Task Force XXI Advanced Warfighting Experiment (AWE), where it was observed that the C2V provides greater mobility and protection than predecessor systems, and with more interior room, allows for better control of battlefield information. The larger size and array of antennas also make the C2V an attractive target to either direct-fire or close-air support systems. While conducting missions on-the-move (approximately 5 percent of the time for the AWE, operators were able to share information within the vehicle, but inter-vehicle communications were not functional. There were also a number of observations that indicated that motion sickness may be a serious problem with the configuration tested, and that crew stations should face to the front in order to reduce motion sickness.

Major activities in support of LFT&E during FY98 included: (1) completion of the Ballistic Vulnerability Test (BVT) (February 1998); (2) publication of the Abbreviated Test Report for the BVT by the Aberdeen Test Center (March 1998); (3) initiation of the Controlled Damage Test (September 1998); (4) initiation of the planning for the full-up, system-level test; and (5) evaluation of the C2V's susceptibility to advanced, high-precision, artillery delivered explosively formed penetrators.

Outside of LFT&E, much of the fiscal year was devoted to testing the internal configuration of the vehicle with added emphasis on the effects of the configuration on crew motion sickness.

From May-June 1998, crew shelter configuration testing was conducted on three C2V variants to examine their effect on crew motion sickness. There was no difference in frequency of motion sickness detected between the variants. The results were also compared to the M577 and to the M113, with no appreciable differences noted. Based on these results, no vehicle configuration changes were incorporated. However, this unscheduled testing did delay the start of the full-up, system-level test, which had been scheduled for June 1998. The full-up, system-level test is now scheduled to begin in 1QFY99. The initiation of LFT&E is in question due to an armor configuration change reported by the program manager. This change may be of such significance that the LFT&E may be postponed until the LRIP-II vehicles, those containing the new armor configuration, are available (September 1999). Signature testing was conducted at Yuma Proving Ground to determine the susceptibility of the C2V to artillery delivered high-precision munitions. As a result of this testing and with guidance from the National Ground Intelligence Center, the LFT&E Integrated Product Team determined that an explosively formed penetrator should be fired against a full-up C2V.

The objectives of the Ballistic Vulnerability Test were to: (1) investigate the integrated armor performance and structural integrity of the C2V armor when subjected to small arms projectiles and artillery fragments; (2) gain insight to the environment of the crew compartment, as well as to the level of damage to external components when the C2V is subjected to plate mine attacks; and (3) measure both the blast effects to the C2V structure and the ballistic shock environment inside a C2V when it is subjected to near-miss artillery rounds. The testing uncovered some weaknesses in hatch latching mechanisms, interior ballistic liner mounting fixtures, and selected areas of armor protection. Repairs for these deficiencies will be installed on the vehicle prior to the full-up, system-level testing.

Although IOT&E remains to be conducted (FY99), based on testing and experimentation to date, we believe the C2V has the potential to be an improved command and control vehicle for the force.

As a result of LFT&E efforts, the C2V system has: (1) improved attachments between the armor and the ballistic liner; (2) more robust latches for doors and hatches; (3) adopted the Abrams tank hatch design; (4) increased protection around rear door of enclosure; (5) better primary power unit panel mounting fasteners and inserts; (6) eliminated the CPU bypass; and (7) upgraded the performance of its steel hatches.