Advertisement

Tester approved
(click to view full)

As mechanical things get more complex, the difficulty of testing them increases. Think about the testing set-ups you see in today’s auto shops, for instance, vs. the equipment you would have seen 40 years ago. The same dynamic is at work with respect to the devices found in military vehicles and aircraft – and even the weapons they carry.

DME Corp. in Orlando, FL won a $31.9 million for delivery order #0005 under previously awarded indefinite-delivery/ indefinite-quantity contract (M67854-05-D-3011) for VIPER/T Third Echelon Test Set (TETS) and related equipment. TETS is a weapon system field portable, automated, diagnostic fault isolation mechanism. It is currently used to test components of weapons systems (e.g. Avenger air defense system, TOW 2 Missile, LAV-25 vehicle, LAV-AD vehicle), radar systems (TPS-59, TPS-63, TPQ-46A), and communications gear (TRC-170, Unit Level Circuit Switch). It is also being used to test items from the Amphibious Assault Vehicle (AAV) and will be used to test components of the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle (EFV, formerly AAAV).

TETS has 3 variants; Radio Frequency (RF), Electro-Optical (EO), and RF/EO. This order covers 32 EO variants, 6 RF/EO variants, 38 Stand Alone Instrument Fixtures, and 38 Calibration Interface Devices. Work will be performed in Orlando, FL, Santa Barbara, CA, and Austin, TX, and is expected to be complete in September 2009. This contract was competitively awarded through full and open competition, with 2 offers received by the Marine Corps Systems Command in Quantico, VA.