U.S. Army to Unveil Modernization Plans That Replace Its Canceled Future Combat SystemAugust 18, 2009

 

UAS

The U.S. Army will brief its leaders by Labor Day on a new set of guidelines to modernize its fighting force.

In an interview with CongressDaily, Lt. Gen. Michael Vane, who is leading the effort to outline the new plans, said that the assessment will include requirements for a new ground combat vehicle for the Army.

This comes on the heels of Defense secretary Robert Gates announcing in April that the Army's Future Combat System (FCS), a $160 billion program, was being terminated. One of the main criticisms of the program was that the Army did not adequately incorporate the lessons of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars into their FCS program, according to the article.

While the FCS program was implemented almost a decade ago, it had some elements that the Army will continue to develop, like unmanned air and ground vehicles. The new efforts will be called Army Brigade Combat Team Modernization.

Vane, the director of the Training and Doctrine Command's Army Capabilities Integration Center, noted that his task force is now incorporating field lessons from the U.S. military and its allies into the new guidelines. The most anticipated finding is the group's recommendation for the new combat vehicle's requirements, Vane told CongressDaily.

"The Army has had not a lot of fair luck here in getting a new combat vehicle," Vane said. He was alluding to the several program cancellations the service has suffered over the past 40 years, according to CongressDaily.

While the combat vehicle's specifics—such as weight and whether it will be wheeled or tracked—will be decided later, the requirements will lay the foundations for the design. These are the vehicles that the Army is to receive in five to seven years, according to the article.

"It has been an opportunity to re-look where we've been with the program, where we've been with our requirements."

(Courtesy photo)