Digital Models Expedite Crusader Redesign.

• Author: Erwin, Sandra I.

Simulation lab turns massive engineering data into sharp visuals

When the Army decided to trim down the weight of the Crusader field artillery system by 20 tons, the prime contractor redesigned the vehicle in less than seven months. What made this possible, officials said, was the sophistication of the manufacturer's computer-aided simulation technology.

By Pentagon standards, seven months is an unusually fast turnaround for a major weapon system redesign. Before digital design technology became the norm in vehicle manufacturing, making such drastic changes in engineering drawings would take several years.

Computer-aided design has been around for decades and is used in most Pentagon weapon programs today. But Crusader officials claim that they have pushed this technology farther than other defense programs or other industries, such as the automotive and aeronautical design.

The Crusader field artillery program, made by United Defense LP (UDLP), in Minneapolis, began in 1994. It was designed to replace the aging Paladin self-propelled howitzers currently in the Army inventory. The system consists of a self-propelled howitzer and an ammunition resupply vehicle. The two pieces weighed 110 tons, which was acceptable in the early stages of the program.

But approximately 18 months ago, the Army announced it would undergo a socalled "transformation" process to become a lighter, more mobile force. That meant Crusader had to be slimmed down, or it would not fit into the Army's war-fighting strategy.

At UDLP's armaments division in Minneapolis, engineers, designers, number-crunching executives and Army officers have been watching the redesign unfold in front of their eyes at the company's "visual integration lab."

Major modifications were made on both vehicles. The 55-ton howitzer was trimmed to about 40 tons (not including armor kits and ammunition). Half of the resupply vehicles, which initially were tracked, will be wheeled.

The U.S. Army spent $355 million on Crusader this fiscal year.

The visual integration lab, which was installed in 1998, is one among only 35 such facilities in the United States, said David Crowell, the company's marketing manager. Typically, this type of facility would be found in the entertainment industry, Crowell told reporters during a tour of the plant last month.

"The big thing that this allows you to do is work in real time," he said. Computers process massive amounts of engineering data, allowing Crusader officials...