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	Director, Operational Test & Evaluation
	FY98 Annual Report

SYSTEM DESCRIPTION & CONTRIBUTION TO JOINT VISION 2010

The Wolverine provides assault bridging support for forward, heavy-maneuver forces, thereby utilizing the Army's Vision 2010 concept of decisive operations. The Wolverine launcher is mounted on an M1A2 Abrams System Enhancement Program chassis and is operated by a two-man crew. The bridge is 26 meters long and can span gaps up to 24 meters. It will support a Military Load Class 70 vehicle crossing at 16 kph. The bridge is launched from under armor in five minutes and is retrieved in less than ten minutes.

The Wolverine will increase maneuver force mobility by allowing units to transit such gaps as tank ditches, road craters, and partially damaged bridge sections. The current Armored Vehicle Launched Bridge (AVLB) only supports Abrams tank units with caution crossing at reduced gap length (15m) and reduced crossing speed. The Wolverine will replace the AVLB in selected engineer companies of mechanized battalions, armored cavalry regiments, and heavy brigades.

Due to its funding level, the Wolverine was not required to undergo operational test oversight by DOT&E; however, the system is on oversight for LFT&E. Following a significant increase in the program's procurement objective (to the current 465 units), the Army's Acquisition Executive, in a memorandum dated June 4, 1996, notified OSD that the Army designated the Wolverine as an ACAT II program and a covered system for LFT&E. The program was added to the T&E oversight list in 1996 for LFT&E only. DOT&E has participated in the Wolverine LFT&E Integrated Process Team since May 1996, and approved the completed strategy in March 1997. Dedicated LFT&E events began in 4QFY97 and will extend through 3QFY99. Milestone III for the Wolverine is planned for April 2000.

The approved testing strategy includes three phases of testing: (1) ballistic testing against a deployed bridge; (2) full-up, system-level testing of a production representative bridge and an up-armored prototype launch mechanism mounted on an M1A1 chassis containing some non-production-like Wolverine components; and (3) full-up, system-level testing of a production system. Phase I testing was successfully conducted during FY97. Throughout this testing, the bridge met or exceeded its requirements. Planning and test activities during FY98 focused on Phase II testing and initial planning for the Phase III test.

Phase II testing consisted of a controlled damage test and a full-up, system-level test against a production representative bridge and an up-armored prototype launch mechanism. The primary objective of the Controlled Damage Test was to investigate subsystem vulnerability of the Wolverine vehicle. The results of these tests were used to determine the loss of combat utility (mobility and bridge operations) by introducing expected types of combat damage into the vehicle and recording the vehicle's response. Typical combat damage introduced during this testing included disconnects and shorts to wiring harnesses, perforation and crushing of fluid lines, and structural damage to critical components.

The Phase II system-level test was designed to examine the system's vulnerability to enemy direct and indirect fire. The three shot effort focused on crew survivability, ballistic shock, fragment and blast effects, and loss of combat function, and demonstrated the reparability of the system at various maintenance levels. Soldiers were utilized during the latter effort to more realistically capture the reparability of the system from a user's perspective.

The Phase III full-up, system-level test will be conducted against a production representative system in 3QFY99.

The Wolverine system met or exceeded its requirements throughout Phase II testing. The bridge launching system demonstrated exceptional robustness when subjected to the blast and fragments of near-miss artillery rounds. In all events, the system completed its bridge-launching mission and the deployed bridge proved capable of supporting a crossing of MLC 70 vehicles per the requirement.

During the early planning stages of LFT&E, the program manager and the prime contractor recognized areas of potential weakness in the Wolverine system. Specific areas of concern included exposed hydraulic lines and cylinders, control sensors, and critical components located behind minimal armor protection. The contractor embarked on a program to resolve these areas of potential weakness prior to LFT&E. The final phase of the live fire effort will test, in part, the robustness of these repairs.