Strategy to blame for radio woes, says acquisition deputy.

• Author: Erwin, Sandra I.
• Position: Up Front - Joint Tactical Radio System

The Army's decision to suspend the development of the Joint Tactical Radio System is a necessary step to get the program on track, said Lt. Gen. Joseph Yakovac, military deputy for Army acquisition.

Yakovac described JTRS as an important technology that the Defense Department needs in the future. Flaws in the program are not technical, but rather the result of a poorly conceived acquisition strategy, Yakovac told an industry conference hosted by the Association of the U.S. Army.

"The JTRS program, as it was developed, was an unachievable goal, because it was looked upon as being a radio-replacement program," he said. "That is an inefficient way to manage resources."

The focus should be on the networking technology, rather than the radios, he said. Although the military services have many outdated radios that need replacement, many systems am in good condition. "If we had unlimited resources, we could give them all new radios," Yakovac said. "The radio-replacement philosophy is what, I believe, caused this program problems. What we really want from JTRS in the near term is to enhance networking, not replace legacy radios. If you approach it from that standpoint, you have a much different problem you need to solve."

The Army will restructure the program, and will emphasize "wideband networking," rather than replacing radios. "We cannot afford to throw away good stuff just to throw away good stuff," he said.

During the past several months, Yakovak's office has been working with the office of the secretary of defense on a new course of action for JTRS. The goal, he said, is to "slow down the program, reassess what we should have done a long time ago: a migration strategy from what we want from JTRS over time."

Eventually, the services will replace outdated radios, but, for now, the priority should be to help small tactical units get connected and share information in real...