US Army to Test New Software Upgrade Method

Young Bang, the U.S. Army’s principal deputy acquisition chief and a past Potomac Officers Club event speaker, said the service will test a new software upgrade method similar to how iPhone software is updated.

Speaking at the Army’s semi-annual Technical Exchange conference, Bang said program executive offices are responsible for fielding software but the Army Materiel Command is in charge of patches.

According to the official, the current method is inefficient because it requires many processes, unlike the commercial industry’s model, which releases periodic updates and does not need another organization to deliver upgraded software, Defense One reported.

The Army has selected programs and tools for pilot testing the software upgrade model, including Enterprise Business Systems-Convergence, Nett Warrior, Army Intelligence Data Platform, Command Post Computing Environment and Army Integrated Air and Missile Defense.

Bang said the service targets to enable the new method in the fiscal year 2024.