The SEC Army Reprogramming Analysis Team (ARAT) - Program Office is the Executive Agent for Army rapid software reprogramming of force protection systems, charged with Software Reprogramming for Army, Joint Services, and coalition Aircraft Survivability Equipment for Airborne Platforms, as well as providing sustainment support to Ground Force Protection Systems (CREW) for Joint Services. Under the original equipment manufacturer, the U.S. Army was paying about $4 million per Mission Data Set software update for the AN/APR48 Radio Frequency Interferometer System, with updates requiring three years to complete. The ARAT-PO took over responsibility and reduced the cost of updates to $450,000, while also reducing the time to complete an update to three months. Not only does the ARAT Program Office team reduce costs, but critical value is added in the protection of the aircraft. For example, a CH-47F Chinook costs $32 million for just the airframe, while ARAT's entire PPSS budget was $25 million for 2010, with software updates applied to all of the Army's 4,000 helicopters of various types in the fleet, all of which need force protection software updates to maintain their security.
SEC: ARAT Supports CREW
By CECOM Public AffairsApril 11, 2013
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