U.S. Army, Raytheon Win Quality Software Award

Published: Sunday, May 9, 2004 - 22:00

The U.S. Army Program Management Intelligence and Effects and Raytheon Co. accepted one of five awards given by CrossTalk, the journal of defense software engineering, for developing high-quality government software.

Last year, CrossTalk announced plans to identify the top five software projects within the U.S. government in order to recognize outstanding performance by their software teams and to promote their best practices. CrossTalk received 44 award nominations, deciding after a series of evaluations on 15 programs to be judged by a panel of judges that then selected the winners, including the Advanced Field Artillery Tactical Data System, developed jointly by the Army, Marine Corps and Raytheon.

AFATDS is the Army’s system of record for planning, coordinating and controlling the use of all mortars, close air support, naval gunfire, attack helicopters, offensive electronic warfare, field artillery cannons, rockets and guided missiles. During Operation Iraqi Freedom, AFATDS directed more than 35,000 rounds of munitions, 857 rockets and 453 long-range missiles safely to their targets, while preventing fratricide and the loss of friendly aircraft.

Raytheon uses Capability Maturity Model processes, the Integrated Product Development System, Raytheon Six Sigma and incremental additions of new functionality to ensure that the program meets its approximately 5,000 system requirements and 8,500 software requirements.

"AFATDS has been a model procurement program-on schedule, within budget and meeting all technical performance standards and contractual delivery requirements," says Lt. Gen. Steven W. Boutelle, the U.S. Army’s chief information officer. "AFATDS’s greatest contribution in 2003 was the outstanding performance of 600 systems used by the front-line fire support units of the U.S. Army and Marine Corps during Operation Iraqi Freedom."

"AFATDS uses a robust communication architecture that provides the entire theater with a common understanding of the fire support battlefield situation," says Lt. Col. James J. Chapman, product manager for Fire Support Command and Control. "It knows the location of every fire support platform on the battlefield, its ammunition status and its range capability."

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