In Acquiring Radar System, Air Force Makes Corrosion Requirements Well Known to Industry

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In Acquiring Radar System, Air Force Makes Corrosion Requirements Well Known to Industry
Effort Involves Good Communication Among Program Office, Corrosion Advisory Team, and Competing Contractors
By Cynthia Greenwood The U.S. Air Force is in the process of acquiring a new ground-based radar system that can detect, identify, and track hostile aircraft and missiles within conflict zones. 3DELRR, which stands for Three-Dimensional Expeditionary Long-Range Radar System, is set to replace the current TPS-75 system, which is more than 30 years old. 3DELRR is a ground-based system that operates by sending out a signal, and based on feedback, identifies aerial targets at long range. The system feeds this information to command-and-control, allowing them to take action. In general, because aerial targets are getting harder to detect, 3DELRR will help the Air Force meet an array of hostile threats in the field, which include manned and unmanned airborne objects, as well as radar jammers and cyberspace threats, said Kevin Ray, 3DELRRs chief engineer and senior technical authority. Unlike the Gallium Arsenide technology that most field-based radars currently use, 3DELRR will be equipped with Gallium Nitride technology, which allows for improved resolution at long ranges to identify aerial threats. In addition, Ray added, 3DELRR employs an active electronically scanned array design, which allows for the use of multiple beams and scanning frequencies to both detect airborne objects and help prevent against interference. 3DELRR can be easily transported via ground vehicle, aircraft, rail cars, and ships, and deployed to support a wide range of expeditionary operations, explained experts in the 3DELRR Program Office, headquartered at Hanscom Air Force Base near Bedford, Massachusetts.

The Challenges to Procuring a Long-Lasting System

The current TPS-75 radar system, originally designed to last 20 years, is becoming more expensive to maintain. As replacement systems like 3DELRR are acquired, the defense acquisition community is increasingly challenged to procure assets that will last as long as possible. In order to extend the life cycle of new systems and reduce maintenance costs, individual program offices must find ways to incorporate corrosion prevention materials and processes into their design and manufacturing specifications.

Senior Airman Justin Wagner performs a periodic maintenance inspection on a TPS-75 air surveillance radar in 2007 at Kirkuk Air Base, Iraq. The system allowed air battle managers located at Balad Air Base, Iraq, to remotely see aircraft flying in northern Iraq. Photo by Bradley A. Lail, U.S. Air Force.

Making corrosion-related decisions about materials and parts is not easy to do in the early procurement stages. When it comes to incorporating corrosion prevention and control measures into the design for new systems, the greatest challenge comes from the fact that with a new system like 3DELRR, all we have to work with is a concept of a radar, said Capt. Leah Weis, systems engineering team member in the 3DELRR Program Office. Even though there is data that describes how different materials behave when in contact with each other, we wont know how the integrated materials and parts will react with each other in the real environment until the system is built and tested. The best that the 3DELRR systems engineering team can do, Capt. Weis noted, is to use lessons learned from other programs and consider available data in order to predict what will happen. As 3DELRR technology was being developed, extensive research and data from the field was incorporated into 3DELRR sustainment planning and requirements to ensure the new system focused not only on using new technology, but on reducing the life-cycle maintenance costs throughout its projected 20-year service life, noted Ray. Ray anticipates that the new system will have less maintenance downtime than the TPS-75 system and greater operational availability.

3DELRR Program Benefits from Effective Corrosion Prevention Planning

According to the Department of Defense Corrosion Policy and Oversight Office, the 3DELRR Program Office has developed a corrosion prevention and control program that is uniquely effective. 3DELRRs Corrosion Program stresses early collaboration and reach-back among the Program Office, experts comprising the Corrosion Prevention Advisory Team, and the contractors competing for the final contract award. The 3DELRR Program Office has also designed and developed an internal, automated Corrosion Readiness Assessment tool to aid in the evaluation of the final contractors corrosion control program maturity. In developing a corrosion prevention and control (CPC) program, 3DELRR Program Office experts have emphasized the importance of collaboration between the government and the contractor. The CPC program goals that involve both entities include identifying, mitigating, and preventing 3DELRR corrosion to reduce system operational downtime and life-cycle maintenance costs. For success the CPC program depends on early collaboration and reach-back; process automation for corrosion maturity assessment, and continuous process improvement, states a CPC program overview prepared by 3DELRRs systems engineering team.

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In Acquiring Radar System, Air Force Makes Corrosion Requirements Well Known to Industry

"In our experience with this Program Office, the 3DELRR Corrosion Prevention and Control Plan is firmly in place, paving the way for this office to balance new technology with requirements for effective long-term sustainment, said Daniel J. Dunmire, director of the DoD Corrosion Policy and Oversight Office. As part of its mission to increase the longevity of U.S. military assets, the Corrosion Office consults with various program offices to encourage them to strengthen their corrosion prevention and control requirements in the design stage of new systems. We believe that the 3DELRR Program Office is in a great position to succeed in their effort to procure a radar system that incorporates a program for optimum corrosion prevention and control, said Michael Carpenter, policy analyst at the DoD Corrosion Office and leader of the Corrosion Policies, Planning, and Procedures WIPT (Working Integrated Product Team). The Program Office explicitly stated their CPC goals within the request for proposal, and they laid in a managerial structure to execute what they put into the RFP. In making their requirements known to industry very early, the Program Office has laid the foundation for their success in acquiring a long-lasting radar system.
Senior Airmen Timothy Marks and Christopher Newton test a display unit on a TPS-75 air surveillance radar in 2007 at Kirkuk Regional Air Base, Iraq. The Air Force plans to replace the 30-year-old TPS-75 radar with the 3DELRR system that is currently being designed and procured. Photo by Bradley A. Lail, U.S. Air Force.

General Corrosion-Related Provisions for 3DELRRs System Design

Corrosion planning started in the programs Technology Development phase and included a review of radar data similar to 3DELRR, as well as current TPS-75 radar field data, to identify specific areas with historically high-risk corrosion problems. The 3DELRR Corrosion Prevention Advisory Team will be actively involved in monitoring and reviewing test data reports and analyses for potential corrosion problem areas throughout the radar development and life cycle. Being mindful of general corrosion-related provisions that have been incorporated into the 3DELRR Corrosion Plan, the Corrosion Prevention Advisory Team plans to review contractor documents to make sure they are considering necessary design considerations that would ensure a longer life cycle for the new system. In general, the Corrosion Prevention and Control Plan addresses how all radars encounter issues with sand and precipitation over time. Blowing sand and dust erodes surfaces and can settle into open areas and crevices, causing damage to joints, filters, and parts that rotate and open. With precipitation, humidity, and condensation, moisture can collect in areas and create a corrosive solution when exposed to other particles in the air like salt, for instance, Capt. Weis explained. The Corrosion Prevention and Control Plan also discusses the need for personnel to be trained in how to use materials properly while cleaning the radar system so surfaces wont be damaged, Capt. Weis said. We discussed design considerations to minimize moisture intrusion and debris collection in the radar. With cables, you want to run them downward and away from the connectors so that you dont have water building up and running down them. Or if you have some sort of compartment, you want to provide low point drains and avoid closed, inaccessible areas that a maintainer cant get into and clean. The new radar systems requirements designate a system that can withstand certain operational environments and factors encountered during transport and storage. Systems vulnerabilities during shipment and storage were addressed early in the design phase, Capt. Weis said. According to the requirements, the 3DELRR can be transported via aircraft, ground vehicle, ship, and helicopter. During transport, vibrations and shock can damage protective coatings and surfaces on the radar Pictured is a notional non-proprietary design for the and accelerate the corrosion process, Capt. Weis explained. For 3DELRR there are design 3DELRR system. Courtesy of Air Force 3DELRR Program accommodations that were written into the requirements to account for this sort of scenario. Within Office. our requirements document we incorporate vibration and shock profiles associated with different modes of transport. Once the system is built the CPAT [Corrosion Prevention Advisory Team] will look into making sure technical manuals and orders adequately address the procedures for packing radar parts and assemblies to prevent corrosion deterioration and physical damage during shipment. The contractor [selected to complete the 3DELRR design and begin manufacture] must build a system that considers these aspects to ensure the radar operates without damage.

Addressing the DoD-Wide Mandate to Eliminate Hexavalent Chromium

The Corrosion Prevention and Control Plan captures all corrosion prevention requirements from the Technical Requirements Document and Statement of Work. While preventing and controlling corrosion on 3DELRR systems remains the primary focus area, the 3DELRR corrosion plan also balances the need to safely protect the environment and the operator and maintainer through the restriction of hexavalent chromium. The RFP includes the DoD-wide mandate to minimize the use of hexavalent chromium in new systems as a contract clause. In the 3DELRR Corrosion Prevention and Control Plan we reference hexavalent chromium to touch on the need to protect not only the system, but also the user and environment, Capt. Weis said. Another area of interest in the 3DELRR corrosion plan is the air ambient cooling system, program officials noted. Although identified as a beneficial new technology for 3DELRR, the air-cooling system itself may be susceptible to galvanic corrosion and microbiologically influenced corrosion if debris or condensation builds up in the unit. The Program Office reviewed air cooling system designs from the Technology Development Phase contractors to ensure they met corrosion-related requirements.

3DELRR Corrosion Prevention Advisory TeamStressing Early Collaboration and Follow-Through

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In Acquiring Radar System, Air Force Makes Corrosion Requirements Well Known to Industry

In order to focus effectively on new technology for 3DELRR while reducing sustainment costs, the Program Office sought the input of numerous disciplines and organizations. The 3DELRR Corrosion Program overview states: The 3DELRR Corrosion Prevention and Control Plan details the governments life-cycle corrosion protection and control strategy of ensuring that manufacturers minimize corrosion in the 3DELRR system design and manufacture, and that the maintainers are equipped with the skills necessary to implement corrosion prevention processes and procedures on fielded radar systems. A Corrosion Prevention Advisory Team jointly developed the corrosion plan for 3DELRR. The team comprised engineering and logistics subject matter experts from the Office of the Secretary of Defense Corrosion Council; the Air Force Corrosion Prevention and Control Office; the Ogden Air Logistics Center, Utah; Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts; United States Marine Corps; MITRE Corporation; and other Air Force Program Offices. Many members of the 3DELRR Corrosion Prevention Advisory Team are engineers with more than 20 years of experience in developing and using radars, and maintaining them in the field, said Capt. Weis. As members of this team, these engineers had an opportunity to review all three preliminary designs and provide feedback to the Program Office to ensure that the design captured corrosion-related considerations in the design requirements. Most importantly from the standpoint of the Corrosion Office, the 3DELRR corrosion experts are providing input to the contractors. According to Capt. Weis, We had open communication between the Program Office, the Corrosion Prevention Advisory Team, and the contractors, making sure that everyone understands the concern from the users standpoint. According to the corrosion program overview provided by the Program Office, the Corrosion Prevention Advisory Team will incrementally improve corrosion readiness measures as the 3DELRR program matures, based on the final design, lessons learned from other programs, and new developments in corrosion-related research. The team plans to refine the Corrosion Prevention and Control Plan during the Engineering and Manufacturing Development phase after the Critical Design Review to include the following corrosion-related sections: 0. a. b. c. d. e. f. Environmental Corrosion Analysis (chemical, natural, storage, and transit). Stress Corrosion (static fabrication stress, and variable operating stress). Shape and Design Analysis (analysis of joints, flanges, crevices, deposits, pits, and containers). Materials Compatibility Analysis (analysis of metal-on-metal, metal-on-non-metal, and quality check of materials). Fluid Dynamics (flowing fluids, parts moving in fluids, two and three-phase flow, entrained solids, and pulsing and vibration analysis). Temperature (oxidation, scales and tarnishes, heat-transfer, dew points, and condensation). Control (cathodic protection, coatings, surface cleaning, inhibitors, maintenance planning, and maintenance logging).

In summary, the Corrosion Prevention Advisory Team met regularly, developed the underpinning for assessment automation, and created baseline analysis files for life cycle trending in corrosion maturity. Early planning in the 3DELRR acquisition life cycle ensured the radar system design will incorporate corrosion prevention-related requirements to ease the impact to field resources and maintenance costs associated with corrosion control, Capt. Weis said. ### Editors Note: On November 15, 2013, the Air Force released its proposal request to contractors participating in the Engineering and Manufacturing Development Phase of the 3DELRR program. Competition was limited to Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, and Northrop Grumman. Proposals were due by December 20, 2013. The 3DELRR Program Office is planning to award a contract by the summer of 2014. The 3DELRR system is scheduled to be fully operational by 2026, and initial operational capability is slated to occur in 2020.

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