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	Director, Operational Test & Evaluation
	FY98 Annual Report

SYSTEM DESCRIPTION & CONTRIBUTION TO JOINT VISION 2010

The Land Warrior is a first generation integrated fighting system for dismounted combat soldiers. It is intended to enhance the lethality, command and control, survivability, mobility, and sustainment of individual soldiers and infantry units. Its capabilities contribute to the Joint Vision 2010 operational concept of dominant maneuver by dismounted forces.

The Land Warrior consists of five subsystems:

• Computer/radio subsystem including a computer, soldier radio, squad radio, and Global Positioning System.



• Software subsystem.



• Integrated helmet assembly subsystem including a helmet-mounted display and a day/night image intensifier.



• Weapon subsystem with currently fielded M16A2 or M4 rifles, thermal weapons sight, close combat optic, and infrared aiming light.



• Protective clothing and individual equipment subsystem including body armor, NBC protective clothing, and load bearing equipment.

Land Warrior integrates a combination of Land Warrior developed equipment, equipment that has already been fielded, and other items under development to be provided to the Land Warrior program as government furnished equipment. Land Warrior is intended to be fully interoperable with the digital command and control of other platforms.

Land Warrior began EMD in January 1996. An Early Operational Experiment (EOE) was conducted in November/December 1996 at Ft. Benning, GA, with ten surrogate prototypes. This EOE provided human factors information, principally with regards to the form, fit, and function of the helmet and load-bearing equipment, which supported system design reviews. Additionally, the EOE was used to aid in the development of tactics, techniques, and procedures. Land Warrior was placed on OSD T&E oversight in April 1998.

Land Warrior OT has not occurred to date. An 18-month OT period was originally scheduled to commence in May 1998 with delivery of 55 systems for test. However, based upon the results of contractor technical testing, Land Warrior has not yet achieved a level of technical maturity to warrant starting OT with an operational unit. As a result, the program office, in conjunction with the contractor, has undertaken a restructuring of the technical test program to ensure that an acceptable level of technical maturity is achieved prior to starting OT. This restructuring will extend the period of time devoted to DT and system integration efforts. As a result, OT is not expected to start until FY00. OT efforts have been devoted to the development of a test strategy. The Land Warrior TEMP is under development and has not been submitted to the Director for approval.

Land Warrior has not established a level of technical performance and reliability to merit commencing OT. For example, the system performed unsatisfactorily during a contractor-conducted immersion test and in an initial effort at personnel airdrop certification. Moreover, a satisfactory level of system integration has yet to be achieved. The original test strategy was overly optimistic with an excessive overlap between DT and OT. The recently restructured developmental strategy adopted by the program is based on a more realistic assessment of the technical challenges of subsystem development and system integration, and will provide a better opportunity to identify and solve technical problems as they arise. The technical areas that require the most effort and present the highest risk include: (1) overall system integration of the numerous subsystems and subsystem components; (2) batteries and power management; (3) system ruggedness and weight; and (4) software development. Also of interest are the program's efforts to ensure digital interoperability with Force XXI Battle Command, Brigade and Below. Since Land Warrior has been on T&E oversight, DOT&E has worked closely with the Army on a variety of Land Warrior test issues and in the ongoing development of the TEMP.