It's not yet a replicator, CCA or weapon. What is the Corporate Test Vehicle?

The Enterprise Test Vehicle program that the Air Force and Defense Innovation Unit announced June 3 will explore high-production rate technologies and platforms to test other systems, but it is not part of other similar programs of the Pentagon as Replicator or Collaborative Combat Aircraft. and it is not intended to produce prototype weapons, officials told Air & Space Forces Magazine.

However, decisive success in reducing costs and production speed could pave the way for a weapons program, a Pentagon official said.

“If they show us something remarkable… of course we will consider adapting it” as a weapon, the official said. “But that’s not the main idea here.”

The program is “not the Air Force's 'Replicator,'” the official added, referring to Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks' flagship initiative to select and mass produce drones and autonomous systems across services, the official said. The Air Force declined to comment on whether the ETV is its bid for Replicator.

Other officials said this is also not part of the CCA program, although the data collected will inform that effort.

Four ETV competitors were announced on June 3: Anduril Industries; Integrated Solutions for Systems, Inc.; Leidos Dynetics; and Zone 5 Technologies.

The goal of the ETV is to produce inexpensive, rapidly producible aerial vehicles that can serve as test platforms for modular equipment that can be used on weapons or platforms. Part of the program involves achieving high-speed production by avoiding the use of hard-to-obtain materials or components requiring long lead times. The use of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components is a priority.

“The Enterprise Test Vehicle (ETV) will serve as a research and development platform for the USAF to explore open system architecture and modularity concepts,” a spokesperson said.

Its primary goal “is to demonstrate the adaptability and scalability of test vehicle manufacturing during design and proof of manufacture,” she added. “The intent is to certify the use of ETV and make it a quick and affordable option for program offices to test new capabilities at the subsystem level without having to do so. [recertify] for the flight test. The ETV will be used to integrate…COTS subsystems to demonstrate the integration and affordability of the system concept.

The platform(s) chosen after the competitive demonstration will be those best able to use modularity “to more easily integrate, demonstrate, and de-risk additional subsystems (e.g., affordable engines, ISR researchers or communications suites) or other weapon systems. variants,” the spokesperson said.

The program will also use ETVs to explore “the maturation of different options for weapons employment, including pallet employment, collaborative air launch, ground launch and others,” she added.

The Air Force has explored the use of pallets using stacks of AGM-158 joint air-to-ground missiles dropped on the rear of cargo planes. Presumably, ETV would be a less expensive subject for such testing.

The Air Force spokesperson said the first ETV demonstration would be of a low-cost cruise missile called “Franklin,” but did not specify which contractor vehicle that referred to.

In an industry solicitation for the ETV released last year, the DIU highlighted the program's emphasis on developing capabilities for rapid production of new munitions.

“Department of Defense replenishment rates for unmanned aerial delivery vehicles are neither capable of meeting growing demand nor achieving affordable mass,” the solicitation states. “Current design and manufacturing of mid-range airborne precision delivery vehicles is complex, expensive, and limited by historically slower production rates due to exquisite components and labor-intensive manufacturing processes. Tight supply chains, proprietary data, and locked-in designs result in a long lead time to transition new technologies into usable capabilities and limit production and replenishment rates.

The DIU said it wanted “solutions to develop, demonstrate and pilot a modular open architecture vehicle that will accelerate the development and fielding of capabilities across all weapons programs by enabling the integration, testing and qualification of different subsystems, capacities and materials. The goal is to demonstrate an aerial platform that prioritizes affordability and distributed mass production.

It called for vehicles with a range of 500 nautical miles with a minimum cruising speed of 100 knots, “capable of delivering a kinetic payload” and ready for testing seven months after contract award.

Although the DIU and Air Force announced ETV contractors in early June, they also announced that demonstrations would begin this summer, suggesting that contracts would have been awarded around January.

The tender also specified the demonstration of an “air-launched variant (e.g. gravity drop/launch from the rear of a cargo aircraft).”

Finally, the DIU was looking for platforms “capable of transporting bulk and using large quantities”.

The DIU solicitation indicated that “several variants could be developed following a successful initial flight test.” Designs that can be produced in different locations, potentially including overseas partners with minimal reliance on special tools and testing equipment, will be prioritized.