DEFENSE - Abdonline

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Werkheiser: We have our own King Air
B200 test bed that is easily
reconfigured. We can try out the
integration of various modifications. It is
airworthy, so we can actually do the
flight tests, too. It is a capability that
enhances the speed with which we can
design, implement, and deploy a
change.
Gamache: This platform allows us to
demonstrate new technologies and gain
insight into new operational
employment concepts. Because this
aircraft is configured for rapid
integration of plug-'n'-play payloads, we
can greatly reduce the schedule and the
nonrecurring engineering cost to
integrate new sensors and components.
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AAD: Where do you offer QRC?
Werkheiser: I mentioned that the
Systems, Maintenance, and Modification
Center is at Robins Air Force base in
Georgia. Our Electronic Systems sector
campus is in Rolling Meadows, Illinois,
and was appraised at Capability
Maturity Model Integration (CMMI)
Maturity Level 5 - the highest rating
possible - in December 2009. They
handle a broad range of systems,
software, and hardware engineering
processes, together with key
manufacturing, program management,
logistics, and supply chain
management.
ISR platforms will be centered at a
new facility we are constructing in
Aberdeen, Maryland. Finally, we have an
unmanned vehicle center of excellence
in Sierra Vista, Arizona.
INTERVIEW: DAVE WERKHEISER TEST & BOB GAMACHE
AAD: What future capabilities do you
hope to add and when?
Werkheiser: The whole idea of QRC is
taking hold with the government. We
hope to leverage all four areas of new
design, modification, upgrade, and
maintenance to support rapidly
changing needs in the field. We foresee
growth, especially through
modifications and upgrades, and
through sustainment.
With the reduction in new program
development, operational and
maintenance issues become more
important. Customers are trying to
squeeze every last ounce of
performance out of their older aircraft.
Wars have become more
unconventional. In a number of cases, it
is really urban warfare nowadays, and
electronics capabilities play a key role in
those cases.
All of the electronics and dynamics
are changing rapidly. Think of it like
your computer, where it seems to
become obsolete every few years.
Technology is growing fast, and
electronics move forward rapidly. COTS
technology takes advantage of the new
technologies. It is similar to you going
to the store and finding a new add-on
for your computer that enhances its
capabilities and performance. You can
take it home, and it is plug and play. It
works. That's a lot like what we can do
for complex defense systems.
When things are built to military
standards, it is very difficult to change
them and often hard even to sustain or
maintain them when they become
“...using COTS technology reduces cost and
makes it easier to maintain the product.
Customers can avoid long development
programs through the capabilities we can
provide almost at ‘the speed of light.’”
obsolete. COTS results in cost savings
and makes it much easier to replace
what you need. It is much, much easier.
We are getting a lot of keen
attention from customers, because we
offer engineering, testing,
manufacturing - everything necessary to
go from concept to field in the fastest
time possible. We hope to sell more of
our capability to a broader range of
customers and programs.
In our opinion, with the decline in
brand-new programs, the wave of the
future is the ability to reconfigure the
airplane rapidly for new mission
requirements. We are operating in that
service sector and are able to offer our
customers the best value solution.
AAD
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