The Department of Defense’s Office of Inspector General assessed the U.S. Air Force’s use of the middle tier of acquisition pathway for prototyping and fielding the Three-Dimensional Expeditionary Long-Range Radar system and found that the program office did not conclude the exit criteria during the MTA rapid prototyping phase before transitioning the 3DELRR program to the rapid fielding path.
The DOD IG has recommended that the undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment consult with the department’s comptroller/chief financial officer to implement guidance that sets the appropriate funding source to buy initial production units of the system during the rapid prototyping and fielding phases, according to a report publicly released on Aug. 28.
“We recommend that the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics) require the Air Force Program Executive Officer Digital to request a waiver to extend the rapid fielding path for the 3DELRR program to complete fielding in the MTA pathway, and require the 3DELRR program office to develop a plan to complete fielding the 3DELRR program in the rapid fielding path if a waiver is issued,” the IG report reads.
3DELRR is a long-range, ground-based sensor system used to detect, identify and track aerial targets for the Air Force, which planned to buy a total of 35 radars through fiscal year 2028.
In March 2022, the Air Force selected Lockheed Martin to supply its AN/TPY-4(V)1 technology for the 3DELRR program.
