TOBYHANNA, Pa. – The U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command’s Integrated Logistics Support Center is involved in so many support and sustainment areas for the warfighter that it fully realizes the need to work closely with other facilities and organizations whose subject matter experts can shape solutions and drive results. In this realm, the ILSC’s collaborations with the Tobyhanna Army Depot have been vital to the Army’s sustainment for many years, and their latest partnership in the field of microelectronics is proving to be one of their most fruitful joint ventures yet.
In a radical departure and a shift in approach to maintenance on microelectronics components that were done at TYAD prior to the Army Materiel Command Organic Industrial Base Modernization taskforce being brought online in 2021, the focus has shifted in recent years to moving the OIB forward as a technology supply enabler in support of Army 2030/40
maintenance requirements. The microelectronics program is a great example of this effort, as the ILSC team is acquiring technical data rights and conducting critical analysis of the data essential to establish an OIB capability at TYAD focused on enhanced repair and fabrication of circuit card assemblies.
“Being able to support the latest technology is a key enabler for the Organic Industrial Base as it provides the Army an organic capability to immediately prioritize production of circuit cards for production and repair, directly supporting the readiness of units in the field,” said TYAD Commander Col. James L. Crocker.
This ability to preserve current standards and build toward greater future capabilities illustrates the fleet readiness initiative that has taken hold within the ILSC. Incorporating technology and modernizing efforts will only serve to increase the potential for positive outcomes. The proficiency levels being reached are serving to elevate the ILSC workforce right now and setting a high standard for the future. This kind of maintenance, repair, and overhaul of existing systems is critical to staying ahead of our adversaries in contested areas and environments.
The ILSC has done its part to target specific system circuit card requirements, ensuring the technical artifacts/data are analyzed, prepared, and provided to TYAD in anticipation of future workload. The ILSC and TYAD teams are concurrently learning about improving technical data management, tech data ownership, and microcircuit obsolescence management while moving from a procurement to an organic development mindset. This will help to determine supply issues with existing microelectronics and what is required to fabricate new circuit cards organically that perform to specifications and can efficiently be supplied back to the field.
ILSC Assistant Associate Director Michael Crapanzano, of the Acquisition and Programs Directorate, has been a driving force behind the effort to ensure the ILSC can properly support TYAD in obtaining and preparing the specific technical data that will enable their microelectronics production and sustainment capability.
“The microelectronics initiative continues to provide an excellent opportunity for the teams engaged to learn what is required to manufacture legacy circuit cards,” Crapanzano said.
“By developing the processes and workflow, as well as relationships both within the DOD and commercial industry, we will reimagine the approach to circuit card supply requirement effectively and efficiently through an organic manufacturing capability at TYAD. This effort is enabling the organizations to become smarter microelectronic consumers in terms of obsolescence management based on the knowledge being gained by the effort.”
In 2023, AMC used capital improvement funds for TYAD to purchase equipment to stand up a fully automated production line for the manufacture of surface mount cards, and TYAD expects to have all necessary equipment on hand by the end of FY24. Other commands have taken note of the burgeoning success story at TYAD, with the U.S. Army Tank Automotive Command visiting TYAD to hold discussions about circuit card assemblies for both the Bradley Fighting Vehicle and M1 Abrams. To experts, it is obvious that the capability will grow, and these ongoing efforts give weapon systems program managers an important lifeline to extend the originally planned life cycles of their systems.
“The exceptional collaboration between engineers at Tobyhanna Army Depot and our allies at CECOM ILSC enables us to significantly enhance readiness for both established and recently deployed systems, such as the AN/TPQ-53 Radar,” Crocker said.
By the start of FY25, in addition to four circuit card assemblies of this radar system, TYAD will also have the ability to work on six different assemblies that are part of the SINCGARS radio family and two cards for the Driver’s Vision Enhancer system.
Lee Straube, ILSC assistant associate director for technology, rounded out the end goal of the program.
“A void in sustainment support is now realized as CECOM must still sustain these low requirement legacy systems plagued with obsolescence,” Straube said. “The microelectronics initiative, when successful, will allow depots like Tobyhanna to manufacture many of the legacy circuit card assemblies and provide CECOM with a source to maintain sustainment of these legacy systems well beyond their original useful life.”
As they leverage all their partnerships across the DOD, the ILSC’s vested interest in TYAD’s growing microelectronics expertise will have wide-ranging positive effects for our Soldiers in the field.
“In support of a future contested logistics environment, CECOM ILSC is doing more than ever before to fill technical data gaps, as well as manage the detailed technical data to support microelectronics,” said Dr. Matthew Chellin, ILSC strategic products manager. “This will provide the warfighter with unprecedented product support flexibility to meet immediate microelectronic demands for a multitude of weapon systems.”
In the fight against obsolescence, the ILSC and TYAD have delivered a sustainment solution that will endure for many years while the next generation’s vehicles and systems are developed. The proactive steps that they are taking in the repair, fabrication, and manufacturing of microelectronics are a prime example of effective Fleet Readiness as CECOM and AMC transform in contact to meet the Army’s current and future needs.
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