In order to protect Soldiers and provide them with vital systems on the battlefield, the U.S. Army Program Executive Office for Intelligence, Electronic Warfare & Sensors (PEO IEW&S) proactively communicates with industry partners to ensure multi-domain operational synergy.

PEO IEW&S, along with their Army Contracting Command counterparts, hosted a milestone 10th Acquisition Lead Time (ALT) Industry Virtual Forum on July 12. This quarterly collaborative forum brought together more than 200 industry members for a discussion of PEO IEW&S opportunities and a laydown of the organization’s strategic mission.

“We believe whole heartedly in the partnership between government and industry to develop and deliver the best capability at the best value for our warfighters and for the taxpayer,” said Brig. Gen. Ed Barker, Deputy PEO IEW&S.

By participating in the ALT, industry partners gain a clearer picture of ongoing procurements and where to spend potential Independent Research and Development dollars; have an increased level of predictability for future opportunity timelines and understanding of PEO processes; as well as a forum for teaming arrangements and open dialogue between industry and PEO IEW&S program managers.

“We share ALT updates with increased frequency and transparency to improve the proposal packages we receive from our industry partners, and help inform their investments and how they align resources efficiently,” said Barker.

Acquisition Lead Time (ALT) is the total time required to complete all activities and events leading to contract award. It is comprised of two phases: Acquisition Requirements Lead Time (ARLT), the time attributable to requirements owners to develop and submit a procurement ready contract request package; and Procurement Administrative Lead Time (PALT), the time attributable to contracting activities from acceptance of the procurement ready request. This means PEO IEW&S is responsible for ARLT, and Army Contracting Command is responsible for PALT.

Sgt. Maj. William Pouliot, Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Army Acquisition Executive of the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology, presented the ALT’s special topic: Soldier touch points. Soldier touch points provide helpful input to industry representatives, testers, researchers and acquisition experts on the capabilities Soldiers will need to fight and win.

Soldier touch points are immersive testing and feedback mechanisms through which Soldiers can provide valuable insights on how certain tools or equipment undergoing development will be used practically in the field. Industry partners also have an opportunity to get on the ground and understand how the requirement being developed will be employed by the end-user in the future.

Past ALT special topics included: Strategic Mission/Vision of PEO IEW&S, overview of the new PEO IEW&S Integration Directorate mission, PEO IEW&S budget insights, the ASA(ALT) Common Modular Open Architecture initiative, use of the Army C5 Other Transaction Agreement, and various Army Contracting Command topics.

The next Forum in the series will take place on Oct. 5 during which we will open the aperture to discuss opportunities that are in the works for the next few years.