Before there was “C2D2,” the Star Wars-evoking acronym for
’s
upgrade program, there was the
Raptor’s “Scaled Agile Framework,” or SAFe.
The F-22 was the first Pentagon weapon system to implement “agile” software and hardware development methods. The Raptor modernization program transitioned from a more traditional approach to the SAFe method in 2014, in an attempt to reduce the number of deficiencies encountered during flight testing and to deliver capabilities to the warfighter faster.
Now, as the F-35 shifts to an “agile” development approach for its own modernization road map, the Joint Program Office (JPO) may do well to take some lessons learned from SAFe.
Instead of developing software in one large package, or block, SAFe uses 12-to-14 week periods to develop smaller portions of software that contribute to the final product. Under SAFe, software developers perform integrated testing during the development process, which they hope will reduce the number of deficiencies identified during flight testing and the number of unplanned software updates.
The upgrade program, which was established in 2003 and will run until 2026, will add critical capabilities to keep the F-22 relevant over its lifetime: Link 16, the tactical communications data link used by most fighter aircraft; enhanced friend-or-foe identification capabilities; sensor enhancements; a Helmet Mounted Display and Cuing System for improved tracking, targeting and weapons controls; and better defenses against jamming.
But the Pentagon’s Inspector General was critical of the U.S. Air Force’s management of the F-22 modernization program in a March report, particularly the contracting approach <insert link
. Specifically, the IG called out the program office for failing to update its contracting strategy for SAFe implementation, which may jeopardize its ability to deliver the upgrades on time.
So far the program office has awarded two contracts for F-22 modernization: one in 2003 for up to $6 billion and another in 2013 for up to $6.9 billion. Both contracts are indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contracts with primarily cost-plus-incentive-fee and cost-plus-fixed-fee delivery orders, according to the IG. The program office plans to award the next order in spring of 2018.
The Air Force’s failure to find an appropriate contracting strategy for SAFe is part of a wider problem in the Pentagon, the IG report claims. Neither the office of the undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics or the assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition have issued policy for implementing agile software development methods on weapon systems acquisitions.
“Without an appropriate contracting strategy, the Program Office may not deliver F-22 modernized capabilities necessary to sustain air superiority against rapidly evolving U.S. adversaries,” the IG wrote.
It is “imperative” that DOD address this problem by updating acquisition guidance, particularly as the use of agile software development methods increases, the report says.
The F-35 will likely feel the impact of any DOD policy changes. The JPO’s latest plan for F-35 follow-on modernization, called Continuous Capability Development and Delivery (C2D2), relies heavily on agile software development—smaller, incremental updates to the F-35’s software and hardware instead of one big drop, with the goal of speeding follow-on upgrades while still fixing remaining deficiencies in the Block 3F software load.
F-35 program executive officer Vice Adm. Mat Winter has compared the C2D2 approach to downloading iPhone apps.
“Envision in your head: the pilot jumps in a jet, fires it up, the panoramic cockpit display comes up,” said Winter. “Envision a little window that pops up that says ‘your latest EOTS [electro-optical distributed aperture system] software update is ready for download: yes or no?’ Similar to what you do on your smartphone.”
The JPO envisions C2D2 as consisting of a six-month enhancement and improvement software delivery cycle and a 12-month interval for modernization, according to Winter’s written testimony provided to the House Armed Services tactical air and land forces subcommittee. The approach includes a sequence of two capability drops aligned with a cycle of “Technology Insertions,” which are designed to leverage rapid commercial off-the-shelf computer upgrades to keep pace with technology and minimize obsolescence while solving diminishing manufacturing source issues.
On a longer-term cycle, C2D2 also includes a “Technology Refresh” every eight to 10 years “to capture the next level of computing capacity,” Winter said. The JPO hopes this timeline will maintain “viable warfighting capability” throughout each cycle—a decision that was based on experience from the F-22.
The JPO is planning to award a Systems Engineering Phase II contract for C2D2 in spring 2018, according to Winter. The contracting vehicle the JPO uses could indicate whether the Pentagon is finally getting its arms around the right approach for agile software development.
