US Army pushing forward with organic industrial base modernization

GVSETS 2024 — For several years, the US Army has been working to upgrade its indigenous production capability, having launched a 15-year modernization effort for its Organic Industrial Base (OIB).

It’s a long-term work in progress, but Brig. Gen. Michael B. Lalor, head of the Army Tank-Automotive & Armaments Command (TACOM), told Breaking Defense this week that he expects to see real movement over fiscal year 2025, especially at the Long Range Precision Fires Facility at Watervliet Arsenal, NY.

The 350,000 square-foot future unit will house manufacturing of 155mm and larger cannon tubes, and is expected to operate for a minimum of 40 years. According to Lalor, the facility will have new, modernized capabilities and technologies. In December 2023, the Army Corps of Engineers conducted market research to identify businesses which can perform planning and design services for the new location.

“We haven’t like broken ground on it yet, but the goal would be to get that in motion” in FY25, Lalor said during this year’s Ground Vehicle Systems Engineering and Technology Symposium (GVSETS) in Novi, Mich.

Apart from the work in Watervliet, there are “a number of projects that have started this year or are in motion” across TACOM’s six depots and arsenals.

“There are planning efforts for component repair facilities, component remanufacturing facilities at both Anniston [Army Depot] and Red River [Army Depot],” Lalor said. “Those [efforts] are all focused on getting those [facilities] in place by the 2028, 2029 time frame.”

He estimated that between $75 million to $100 million will end up invested in the infrastructure and capabilities of the OIB over the coming fiscal year.

The Organic Industrial Base comprises 23 depots, arsenals and ammunition plants owned by the government. Some of their locations have been used since the 1970s to support the manufacturing of parts, components and systems for several Army platforms.

“There is ongoing production with us of tanks and combat systems. The M10 Booker, which is obviously with General Dynamics, has some of its components being made inside our arsenals. Its 105-millimeter cannon is being done at Watervliet Arsenal,” Lalor remarked.

The OIB 15-year upgrade process is part of the Army’s Organic Industrial Base Modernization Implementation Plan, which was established in 2021 and will comprise over 500 initiatives across its Organic Industrial Base.

The upgrade of the branch’s production capabilities has an $18 billion total estimate cost with around $5 billion going to TACOM and its units.

The goal is to increase safety for the branch’s personnel involved in the production assembling line in addition to implementing more efficient, quality green manufacturing to support the 2030s Army. It will involve integrating robotic processes and removing people from hazardous work environments.