YPG commander looks to the future for test center

Two years into his command, it is clear that Col. Ross Poppenberger took the reins at a pivotal moment in the Army’s — and YPG’s — history.

At present, the proving ground actively supports six of the Army Futures Command’s Cross Functional Teams building the Army’s future force, which seeks to retain overmatch with near-peer adversaries in a high intensity conflict while maintaining the competency in waging irregular warfare that has been achieved since the 9/11 attacks.

The highest profile test project in support of the CFTs relates to the Army’s top modernization priority: long range precision fires. The Army aspires to field systems capable of accurately firing at targets 100 kilometers away in the next four years, a dramatic increase over the 30 kilometers a currently-fielded 155mm howitzer shell is capable of when fired at top zone with rocket assistance. YPG testing has already achieved significantly increased distances in test fires conducted at both the proving ground and the nearby Barry M. Goldwater Range.

“Right now we are at twice the range of conventional artillery, and we’re looking to go way beyond that,” said Poppenberger.

The effort is called

Extended Range Cannon Artillery, and YPG conducts developmental testing of multiple facets of it, from the artillery shells to the longer cannon tube and larger firing chamber the improved howitzer will need to accommodate them. YPG’s ammunition plant has been instrumental in building multiple experimental formulations, shapes, and configurations for new propelling charges to accommodate the improved projectiles. Upon completion, the new systems will be integrated into both towed and selfpropelled howitzers. It’s a dramatic effort, and one of many that Poppenberger must think long term about.

“My daily challenge is not to pull the lanyard on a howitzer, but how to position my test center well into the future and meet the needs of the Army,” he said.

This means planning for both the increased range space and air space use long-range munitions testing requires, as well as ensuring the proving ground’s infrastructure and test instrumentation across all commodity areas are evolving to meet the test customer of the future’s needs. For example, it is quite likely that other CFT programs like the next generation main battle tank and Future Vertical Lift unmanned aircraft will make appearances here in the next several years.

YPG—with jurisdiction over all the Army’s extreme weather testing, and with testing conducted in Yuma, Alaska, and the tropics--has been the busiest of the Army’s six test centers for the past nine years, and Poppenberger is keen to maintain this excellence.

“It is a national treasure. Essentially every piece of kit that gets fielded to Soldiers goes through Yuma Proving Ground. We have some of the world’s finest engineers and technicians that deal with this equipment day in and day out.”

Poppenberger stresses that the most important element of the proving ground’s successful outcomes is the personnel who work here, oftentimes for entire careers.

“Our customers want to come to YPG because they know the test officers we employ have years of experience. When they look at a piece of equipment, they’re not going to spend that program manager’s dollars trying to figure out how to test it. There are subject matter experts across all aspects, from spectrum management to indirect fires to air delivery systems.”

One notable individual among many is YPG Technical Director Larry Bracamonte, who has impressed Poppenberger with his test-related insights as ERCA testing has ramped up.

“He has 33 years of experience with field artillery: that’s more experience than any Soldier in the Army will ever have shooting artillery. When someone like him speaks about a piece of equipment, that is the voice of a lot of experience.”

YPG’s work with private industry customers has also increased during Poppenberger’s tenure, a success story he says is in part thanks to organizations like the Greater Yuma Economic Development Corporation and the Yuma 50 military support group.

Mark Schauer is the public affairs officer at the U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground.

PHOTO BY MARK SCHAUER/YPG NOW-ACTING SECRETARY OF DEFENSE Dr. Mark Esper (left) visited YPG in the last week of November, where he paid particular attention to testing related to the Extended Range Cannon Artillery program, the Army’s top modernization priority. “The work that is happening here at Yuma by our military and a large cadre of civilians is critical to our nation’s security,” Esper said at a press conference with YPG Commander Col. Ross Poppenberger at the conclusion of the visit. “It is important because we want to make sure we deploy weapons that work as we expect them to, that deliver to the Soldiers what they need and when they need it.”