Yuma Proving Ground (YPG) recently took center stage as the host for the semi-annual gathering of the Instrumentation Range Support Program (IRSP). This pivotal forum, known as the Technical Interchange Meeting, brought together experts, engineers, and stakeholders from the world of radar, telemetry, and optical tracking systems.
Held over a three-day period from Jan. 30 to Feb. 1, 2024, at the Pivot Point Conference Center in the City of Yuma, discussions revolved around cutting-edge technologies, system evaluations, and precision in range support.
The 50 plus participants also delved into a multitude of other meeting topics such as current program updates, instrumentation modernization, obsolescence avoidance, instrumentation sustainment, range reports, and training.
Lt. Col Shane Dering, the Yuma Test Center (YTC) Commander, took center stage on the first day. In an hour-long overview he offered insights into its multifaceted operations. His emphasis covered the critical role YTC plays in not just todays testing but that of future testing. YTC plays a pivotal role in assessing military equipment, weapon modernization and technologies to support the modern-day warfighter.
Attendees, however, weren’t confined to the conference room for the entire time. On the meeting’s final day, they boarded buses to YPG for a briefing and a tour of Mission Control, the nerve center where launches, trajectories and reentries unfold.
They also got to visit the Compact Item Repair Shop where they saw Kineto Tracking Mount radars that had recently been upgraded with parts obtained from the IRSP, and an instrumentation capabilities demonstration that was briefed by subject matter experts.
“The benefit for us is that we are such a diverse range and can do so many different things. A lot of ranges only do one or two things, where we do air drops, drones, munitions, and direct and indirect missiles,” summed up Tracking Radar Subject Matter Expert Herb Kiser, for YTC. “So, if you look at a lot of other ranges, they aren’t as diverse as us and they are sitting there in awe asking how we can do so much. We have almost become the center of excellence in testing because of what we can do here.”
The ISRP, administered by BAE Systems, is a collective of 30 test ranges that includes the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy, NASA, foreign ranges, and three U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command ranges, one of which is Yuma Proving Ground.
Overseen by the United States Air Force, the IRSP also operates a centralized depot and storage site housing critical parts for aging tracking systems. Rather than maintaining individual depots, these ranges rely on this warehouse, stocked with over 10,000 essential components for most of the older range instrumentation systems still in use.
Kiser explained that the IRSP is not just an acronym; it’s a lifeline for YPG’s testing operations because it provides procurement, sustainment, modernization services, and engineering support for critical instrumentation equipment used across its test ranges.
When a radar element needs replacing, optics requires engineering service or a telemetry system requires an upgrade, and the parts are obsolete or not made anymore, the IRSP service are called for support.
“The way the program works is kind of like an umbrella. It covers a lot of instrumentation we depend on daily to support the ranges and meet the test mission.” Kiser said. “A lot of systems tend to date from between the 1960s and the present day. For any one range to be able to store all the parts and retain that level of knowledge is cost prohibitive. It would be exorbitant.”
YPG invests a significant portion of its annual sustainment funding in IRSP support, placing it among the top three participating ranges in the IRSP Program.
That financial support, according to Kiser, echoes across the proving ground, ensuring that all instrumentation areas remain finely tuned and operational.
Social Sharing