United States Army Materiel Systems Analysis Activity is an analysis organization of the United States Army. AMSAA's overall goal is to provide soldiers with the best U.S. Army materiel possible. AMSAA supports the U.S. Army by conducting systems and engineering analyses to support decisions on technology, materiel acquisitions, and the designing, developing and sustaining of U.S. Army weapon systems.HistoryThe AMSAA traces its lineage back through the Ballistic Research Laboratory, established in 1938, where most of the U.S. Army’s early system analysis work was accomplished during the 1930s-1950s. Over the years, the system analysis group continued to grow in size and in importance until January 1, 1968 when BRL’s Weapons Systems Laboratory became a separate organization. AMSAA’s primary mission was to plan and conduct major systems analyses of proposed and existing U.S. Army weapons/materiel systems, programs and support throughout their life cycle. At APG it was assigned to the Aberdeen Research and Development Center, which included BRL, Human Engineering Laboratories, Coating and Chemical Laboratory, and the Nuclear Defense laboratory .During the Vietnam War, AMSAA helped with the decision process to select a new Special Forces transport helicopter by eliminating deficient models and recommending the most cost-effective one. They also conducted a life-cycle reliability study on several U.S. Army missile systems and saved the Army millions of dollars in premature replacements. AMSAA supported all branches of the service and became the executive agent of the Joint Technical Coordinating Group for Munitions Effectiveness, a group formed in the early 1960s that produced weapons effectiveness manuals.