Heaters and ECU's

Heaters and ECU's is a procurement initiative by the Army to acquire Improved Environmental Control Units (IECUs) for various tactical weapon systems, command, control, communication items, medical facilities, expeditionary basing, and support equipment. The IECUs provide critical environmental control for electronic equipment in mobile shelters and vans essential to the Army's mission. The program aims to replace existing Military Standard (MIL-STD) Family of ECUs with a new generation of ECUs that use environmentally approved refrigerants and comply with statutory and regulatory restrictions on the use of Class II Ozone Depleting Chemicals (ODCs). Additionally, the IECUs are required to fill urgent shortages on new fieldings of high priority weapon systems and provide EPA compliant capability to the force structure before commercial/military stocks of previously used refrigerant are exhausted.

The specific objectives of this program include procuring 9,000 BTU/hr, 18,000 BTU/hr (208V and 230V), and 36,000 BTU/hr IECUs in FY2024 to conduct First Article Test (FAT) on a new competitive production contract. The funding will also provide technical and logistics support documentation for the rebuy. The program aims to implement corrective actions to previously procured IECUs to address issues with electrical design and water intrusion. Furthermore, it seeks to upgrade existing IECUs on the production line with Engineering Change Proposal (ECP) changes to the Government-owned design and include ECPs in all future production. This initiative is necessary for use by the active and reserve components of the Armed Forces for homeland defense missions, domestic emergency responses, and providing military support to civil authorities as per Section 1815 of the FY 2008 National Defense Authorization Act (P.L. 110-181).