Test Equipment Modernization (TEMOD)

Test Equipment Modernization (TEMOD) is the Army's procurement line for test and calibration equipment used to keep missile, aviation, air-defense, ground-vehicle, and communications systems ready for operation. In the PB 2027 Army budget, it falls under Other Procurement, Army; Budget Activity 03, Other Support Equipment; and Budget Subactivity 80, Test, Measure and Diagnostic Equipment. TEMOD comprises three separately funded lines: Calibration Sets Equipment (CALSETS), Communications Test Equipment (CTE), and General Purpose Electronic Test Equipment (GPETE). Together, they give operators and maintainers the means to verify equipment accuracy, diagnose faults, and protect personnel and systems from the consequences of unreliable measurements.

TEMOD supports Army transformation priorities including Future Vertical Lift, Long Range Precision Fires, network command, control, communications and intelligence, Soldier Lethality, Air and Missile Defense, and Next Generation Combat Vehicles. The FY 2027 base request covers 904 counted procurement units across CTE and GPETE; individual instruments bought for existing calibration sets are not included in that parent-line count. Because the equipment mix changes from year to year, the line's composite unit cost also varies. The Army uses competitively based, firm-fixed-price indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contracts to control costs while accommodating changing requirements.

Calibration Sets Equipment (CALSETS) provides precision instruments in fixed facilities and tactical shelters, with power-generation equipment for deployed use. Its standards transfer measurement accuracy from the National Institute of Standards and Technology through Army maintenance organizations, from brigade support to multi-theater sustainment. The sets are designed to handle 90 percent of the Army's Test, Measurement and Diagnostic Equipment (TMDE) workload, with a 98 percent objective. Configurations include AN/GSM-286, AN/GSM-287, AN/GSM-439, AN/GSM-440, AN/GSM-442, AN/GSM-26 variants, Secondary Reference standards, and AN/GSM-705 and AN/GSM-421A(V)2 shelters.

CALSETS' FY 2027 request replaces 2023B and MG3694C signal generators and buys torque calibration systems, aircraft weighing-scale calibration equipment, and Army Primary Standards Laboratory hardware. These instruments will go into previously fielded sets rather than receive separate line-item numbers. The request also supports fielding and training, technical publications, logistics, production engineering, quality assurance, and test and evaluation. Accurate calibration underpins the readiness of TEMOD equipment, Assured Positioning, Navigation and Timing systems, and TMDE used on platforms including Patriot, Apache, Abrams, and Army radios.

Communications Test Equipment (CTE) centers on the TS-4549 Radio Test Set, which tests, troubleshoots, and repairs ground and airborne radios down to the circuit-card level. It replaces an obsolete bench-level set that cannot support emerging radio platforms, while retaining support for legacy Single Channel Ground and Airborne Radio System (SINCGARS) equipment. The design is intended to be expandable for software-defined radios, the Combat Net Radio program, and Handheld, Man-pack, and Small Form Fit Radios (HMS); the justification also identifies Link 16 communications. FY 2027 procures 120 sets, with an April 2027 contract award and first delivery planned for September 2027.

The CTE request prioritizes additional radio-test hardware and temporarily halts procurement of radio-system Application Program Software. That software delivery is planned to include HMS radio applications in support of Army Transformation Initiatives. FY 2027 funding also covers production engineering, fielding and shipping, technical and logistics data, quality assurance, and test support. Planned distribution of the 120 sets is 53 to the active Army, 43 to the Army National Guard, and 24 to the Army Reserve.

General Purpose Electronic Test Equipment (GPETE) acquires widely usable instruments to limit TMDE obsolescence and proliferation while reducing support costs across Army commodities. FY 2027 buys 235 CM-523 Spectrum Analyzers, which measure signal power across frequencies for communications, radar, and missile systems, and 549 AN/PRM-37 portable Radio Test Sets for tactical-radio screening and diagnosis. The AN/PRM-37 replaces the AN/PRM-36; other GPETE projects include the TS-4558 Optical Time Domain Reflectometer for fiber-optic network and radar cables, and the AN/USM-783 counter replacing the AN/USM-459. The justification specifically links test-set fielding to advanced surface-to-air missile systems associated with Golden Dome and to HMS readiness.

GPETE's 784 FY 2027 counted units are planned for the active Army and Army National Guard. Its request includes support equipment, shipping, technical and logistics services, engineering, quality assurance, and testing alongside the instruments themselves. Across TEMOD, these purchases sustain the accuracy, safety, and mission readiness of equipment used at every maintenance level. The Army also identifies the line as necessary for active and reserve components carrying out homeland-defense missions, domestic emergency response, and military support to civil authorities.