User:TomFawls/Battle Lab Reconfigurable Simulator Initiative (BLRSI)

Battle Lab Reconfigurable Simulator Initiative (BLRSI)

The Battle Lab Reconfigurable Simulator Initiative (BLRSI) was a U.S. Army Program in the early and mid-1990's intended to advance technologies critical to the development, build and use of military training and engineering simulations.

The initial contract was awarded to Hughes Training, Inc. in December 1995 as a Cost Plus Incentive Fee (CPIF) contract. .

Hughes led a team of nine subcontractor and US Army personnel building five different types of reconfigurable simulators intended to support experimentation and analysis of the Army's Force XXI modernization plan by the various Army Battle Labs.

The program, which was briefed to Congress as the U.S. Army's top priority for the 1996 procurement year, was plagued by problems right from the start. The program start was delayed for more than five months due to Government funding issues and The initial contract value was $16.8 million was less than one third the total $53.2 million dollar price included in Hughes' accepted offer. Additionally, the US Army had conducted an independent assessment of the cost to develop the desired reconfigurable simulators and had concluded it would take between $300 and $400 million dollars and up to three years to complete. The winning proposal was to deliver the 5 simulators within 10 months after contract award for a price of $53.2 million.

There were a number of technology issues with the program as well, with a number of new hardware and software technologies needing to be developed as part of the initial 10 months prototype development program.