TOBYHANNA ARMY DEPOT, Pa. -- Work has begun here on a system that will add an extra safety blanket for Soldiers in the field against the threat of improvised explosive devices and roadside bombs.
Engineers and technicians in the depot's System Assembly Branch began production of parts for 45 Robot Deployment Systems (RDS). The systems have been developed to better protect Soldiers when positioning route clearance robots for use. The RDS uses a rear-mounted hydraulic lift and storage compartment to deploy, retrieve and then stow a robot using controls inside the vehicle. Previously, Soldiers had to exit the vehicle to deploy the robot, leaving them exposed to enemy fire and other threats.
The early stages of the mission have included a design and review process to weed out any possible safety and reliability issues. Personnel at the TACOM Life Cycle Management Command and Letterkenny Army Depot (LEAD) completed a first article inspection and physical configuration audit on Feb. 18. Following the inspection, Tobyhanna and TACOM implemented subtle changes that would ultimately improve the systems' manufacturability and mitigate production risks.
According to Business Development Specialist Ashley Wood, the mission has involved the coordination of many moving pieces.
"LEAD approached the depot in July 2014 to produce the RDS for mounting on RG-31 MRAP (mine-resistant ambush protected) vehicles, which are produced at Letterkenny in support of their customer at TACOM," she said.
Hiram Gillyard, chief of the Fabrication and Assembly Division, said finalizing drawings for several components has proven challenging but the team has worked well together to find the best solutions.
"We've had to make adjustments along the way as a team to maximize reliable operation of the units. Soldier safety and efficiency are the main priorities," he said. Assembly of the initial 45 units is scheduled to start next month and wrap up in October.
Mechanical Engineer Jenny Battenberg said the all-hands-on-deck effort has ensured efficient and streamlined production of parts.
"Early on, TACOM assisted in clarifying initial construction issues and incorporating new piece parts into the first article test," she said. "That evolved into providing updated drawings whenever an improvement was made." Paul Borosky, chief of the Systems Integration and Support Directorate, added that each step of the process has focused on quality.
"Tobyhanna builds quality into our products and processes, and has done so for this product throughout its development," he said.
Early mission successes have paved the way to adding 164 units to the workload for a projected total of 209 systems, all of which will be fabricated at Tobyhanna. Once assembled, units will be sent to LEAD for installation on MRAPs prior to deployment.
Tobyhanna Army Depot is a recognized leader in providing world-class logistics support for C4ISR systems across the Department of Defense. Tobyhanna's Corporate Philosophy, dedicated work force and electronics expertise ensure the depot is the Joint C4ISR provider of choice for all branches of the Armed Forces and industry partners.
Tobyhanna's unparalleled capabilities include full-spectrum logistics support for sustainment, overhaul and repair, fabrication and manufacturing, engineering design and development, systems integration, post production software support, technology insertion, modification, foreign military sales and global field support to our Joint Warfighters.
About 3,100 personnel are employed at Tobyhanna, which is located in the Pocono Mountains of northeastern Pennsylvania. Tobyhanna Army Depot is part of the U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command. Headquartered at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, the command's mission is to research, develop, acquire, field and sustain communications, command, control computer, intelligence, electronic warfare and sensors capabilities for the Armed Forces.
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