MARK 46 Weapons System Development

MARK 46 Weapons System Development

Organization: MARCORSYSCOM, DRPM Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle (EFV) formerly Advanced Amphibious Assault (AAA)

http://www.efv.usmc.mil/

Team Name: Weapons System MARK 46 Development Team

Related Acquisition Topic(s): Commercial Practices, Commercial and Non Developmental Items (CANDI), Cost As an Independent Variable (CAIV), Cycle Time Reduction (CTR), Evolutionary Acquisition, Integrated Product and Process Development (IPPD), Partnering

Description:

The DRPM EFV Weapon System MARK 46 Development Team, a government/contractor team responsible for the success of this multi-use system is made up of representatives from DRPM EFV, General Dynamics Land Systems, Boeing Ordnance, Naval Surface Warfare Centers (NSWC/Crane Division, NSWC/Dahlgren), Naval Sea Systems Command, PMS-317), Army Research Development and Engineering Command, Army Research Laboratory, and the Army Material Systems Analysis Agency, making it a cross-functional team of experts. The Team manages the design, production, testing, and fielding of the 30/40mm manned/remote gun turret and its gun and ammunition.

The MARK 46 system is an extraordinarily accurate and lethal system with day night and all weather capabilities; yet, it is light, compact, and low cost. It represents an exquisite balance of lethality, performance, and value, and is one of the most cost effective weapon systems in the world today. A variant of the system, being concurrently developed, will be installed on the US Navy's LPD-17 class of ship and is also being considered for applications ranging from Patrol Craft to major Naval combatants. Among the programs moving towards adaptation of the system are PC-1 Coastal Patrol Craft, DD-21 Blue and Gold Teams, CVN-77, DDG-51, LAV-III for the Medium Brigade, and the Future Scout Vehicle.

The DRPM EFV Weapon System MARK 46 Development Team is the founder and leader of this international, joint-services, private-public IPPD and has been leading the way in minor and medium caliber weapon systems. Some of the highlights of their exemplary performance include:

• Total Ownership Cost (TOC): The MARK 46 team devised and proposed a Joint Services TOC Initiative for 30mm x 173mm Ammunition. This USMC/USN/USAF/OSD initiative is one of only three Departments of the Navy joint TOC initiatives. This initiative will develop, qualify, and field a common DoD family of 30mm ammunition that will result in dramatic cost savings as well as increase the worldwide operational suitability of the ammunition by eliminating the environmentally hazardous depleted uranium rounds from the DoD inventory. This is a low risk solution that offers a most likely saving of $271.8M for a total investment of just $28.8M (a 9.4 ROI). These estimates do not include the substantial cost avoidance benefit of removing the health and environmentally hazardous depleted uranium from the US Air Force ammunition inventory.
• Cost as an Independent Variable (CAIV): The MK 46 team designed the weapon system based on two years of extensive systems analyses, computer based simulations, trade studies, and validation experiments. Calling on subject matter experts from the USMC and other services, the team evaluated every aspect of the design from component, through subsystem, to whole system analyses. By using CAIV principals, the team was able to balance development, procurement, performance, supportability, and growth considerations resulting in the current design. For instance, the trade study conducted on the sight selected a system that provides 85% of performance at half the cost and half the weight comparable sight systems.
• Software Reuse and NDI Hardware: The team selected software and hardware considering the opportunity for embedding commonality with other programs such that development costs and risks are shared. For example, use of M1A2 software and hardware results in shared investment and protects against obsolescence. Approximately $1M of savings in non-recurring engineering is realized in addition to DTUPC advantages due to common procurement.
• International Industrial Linkages: The MK 46 Team initiated an FCT to evaluate two armor penetrating round designs. Since there is no in-service domestic design, the FCT effort is expected to save $XM in development costs.
• Interoperability: The management team has actively pursued joint use with the US Navy and others. The first non-AAAV user is LPD-17. They are replacing the baseline Mk 38 and .50 Caliber weapon systems with two MK 46 Mod 1 systems resulting in conservative TOC savings of $45.0M for the Navy; while greatly improving the ships, combat system performance, survivability and readiness. The result is ownership cost savings for both the Navy and the USMC.
• Cost Leveraging: The development team effectively leverages its assets using DoD initiatives such as Small Business Innovative Research, Cooperative Research And Development Agreements, Data Exchange Agreements, and Foreign Comparative Tests. One such initiative is an SBIR on a miniaturized multifunction laser sensor. With the success of this program, the laser rangefinder portion of the fire control system can be replaced with a lighter, less costly device, which actually adds functionality. The additional capability to measure high data rate range, range wind, cross wind, and muzzle velocity in combination with the lower cost offers a potential savings of $10M in initial procurement for EFV alone, along with undetermined ammunition expenditure economies.
• Risk Management/Interoperabity: The team participated with other programs to avoid future obsolescence. One example is the supplementing of US Army investments in the Fire Control and Communications Processor (FCCP) design, ensuring the availability of a compatible replacement for a component that will become obsolete. $19M of savings is expected in addition to significant DTUPC savings due to common procurement.
• Acquisition System Responsiveness: The MK 46 has twice obtained interim man-ratings from the Weapon Systems Explosive Safety Review Board (WSESRB). Early reviews provide useful early feedback to the program, potentially avoiding costly mistakes. On both occasions the WSESRB commented that the MK 46 presentations were among the best ever received.
• Reduced Cycle Times: Growth paths are built into the system in anticipation of potential future requirements. As an example, the MK 44 Automatic Cannon was modified into the MOD 1 configuration. The mod allows the system an easy upgrade path to 40mm ammunition with the replacement of only the barrel and two sprockets. This represents a potential cost avoidance of $96M.
• Defense and Commercial Base Integration: In developing the ammunition feed system, potential designs were sought from both traditional DoD suppliers and commercial bottling companies. Feed systems in use today all employ flexible feed chutes, which are unforgiving and difficult to work with when a jam occurs. The commercial vendor, Crown Simplimatic, came up with a winning design using its expertise in bottling and canning machinery to design a remarkably simple, maintainable, light weight (60% less than flex chutes), and reliable ammunition feed system. The vendor intends to use concepts developed in supporting the MK 46 program in future commercial applications.
• Lower Cost Weapons: The MK 46 team negotiated with Boeing Ordnance and the US Air Force in the testing of four gun barrel configurations. Test results will be used to select rifling and coating configurations for the objective Mk 44 30/40mm gun barrels to be used in the Mk 46. A total of 22,000 rounds were fired from these. The MK 46 team loaned the cannon and supplied two of the four barrels along with surplus ammunition obtained from the US Air Force. USMC, USA, and USN members of the Mk 44 IPT provided supervisory services along with the assistance of two USMC reserve Marines. Boeing conducted the tests at their facilities in Mesa, Arizona at no charge to the Program, provided instrumentation and will write the test report. This innovative approach benefits all of the participants yielding valuable information at minimal cost to the Government.

The EFV team has created an exceptionally effective, co-located, Integrated Product and Process Development environment. Design tradeoffs and requirements challenges have identified areas where there is large payoff in life cycle cost for small changes in performance. They have found that by balancing requirements and design, they can do more with less. It is counter-intuitive that a 30mm weapon system can be more effective than a 35mm weapon system and less costly than a 25mm weapon system, yet this is where the years of trade studies and critical experiments have led. The resulting MARK 46 has a remarkably low estimated DTUPC of approximately $1M. The team has truly reengineered acquisition, process by process, and developed a cost effective, producible, supportable, interoperable, and exceptionally capable weapon system for the Marine Corps, the Navy, and the NATO operating forces.

MARCORSYSCOM, DRPM (EFV)

Weapons System MARK 46 Development Team