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Vehicle Operator Control Handle Improvements for Maintenance and Sustainment - Phase II

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Vehicle Operator Control Handle Improvements for Maintenance and Sustainment – Phase II

NCMS Project #: 142112

Problem: Like older specialized components on legacy commercial industry fleets, the main controls of the Bradley Fighting Vehicle (BFV) system, the Gunner’s and Commander’s Hand Stations, are both facing obsolescence and field problems that negatively impact the maintainability and sustainability of the parts, while also impacting the readiness of the fleet.  

Benefit: As applicable, the Army will use the lessons learned from this initiative to make informed decisions on how to apply the processes and tools to integrate new advanced technologies learned during this initiative on other vehicle platforms and DOD platforms. Key outcomes and benefits can be shared and applied across multiple industry sectors that depend on vehicle control handles such as farming, construction, manufacturing, and logistics.  

Solution/Approach: In Phase I of this initiative, a base model hand station was customized to meet the requirements of the BFV.  Several prototype units were developed and qualification testing on these units was completed.  Phase II is necessary in order to develop a field replaceable circuit card assembly that will allow these units to be serviced in the field rather than sending them back to the manufacturer for testing. 

Impact on Warfighter:

  • Decrease vulnerabilities  
  • Offer alternative solution for field repair 
  • Extend asset lifespan 
  • Reduce maintenance costs and asset downtime 
  • Increase warfighter lifespan, performance and reliability 

DOD Participation:

  • U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (CCDEVCOM) Ground Vehicle Systems Center (GVSC)
  • U.S. Army Tank-automotive and Armaments Command (TACOM), Integrated Logistics Support Center (ILSC) 
  • PdM Bradley 
  • U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Research, Development, and Engineering Center (AMRDEC), Systems Simulation, Software and Integration (S31) 

Industry Participation:

  • Ultra MSI
  • BAE (observer)
  • NCMS

Benefit Area(s):

  • Improved readiness
  • Durability
  • Reliability improvement
  • Lightweighting

Focus Area:

  • Reliability improvement (hardware)