Army cancels FCS program; transitions to broader networking effort

On 23 June 2009, the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics issued a long-awaited acquisition decision memorandum (ADM) covering the U.S. Army's Future Combat Systems (FCS) program.

The formal decision had been expected since the release of the recommended Fiscal Year 2010 U.S. defense budget changes that were unveiled on 6 April 2009.

As described by service representatives, the 23 June ADM "cancels the Future Combat Systems Brigade Combat Team (FCS BCT) program and in its place directs the Army to transition to a modernization plan consisting of a number of separate but integrated acquisition programs to meet the secretary's objectives.

Those integrated programs include one to spin out the initial increment of the FCS program to seven infantry brigades in the near term and additional programs for information and communications networks, unmanned ground and air vehicles and sensors, and an integration effort aimed at follow-on spinouts to all Army brigades. The ADM also terminates the manned ground vehicle portion of the previous FCS program and directs an assessment with the Marine Corps of joint capability gaps for ground combat vehicles. The assessment will inform new requirements for Army ground combat vehicle modernization, leading to the launch of a new acquisition program in 2010."

As part of that directed assessment process, the U.S. Army's Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) has established a task force "to examine critical issues in Army-wide modernization. This modernization task force will lead a comprehensive review of force designs, the BCT modernization plan, network integrated architectures, and ground combat vehicle operational requirements."

Describing that modernization plan, Lieutenant General Michael Vane, director of the Army Capabilities Integration Center at TRADOC observed, "The BCT modernization strategy will yield a versatile mix of BCTs that will leverage mobility, protection, information, and precision fires to conduct effective operations across the spectrum of conflict."

One day after receipt of the ADM, former FCS program representatives highlighted continuing efforts "to modernize all Brigade Combat Teams (BCT) with the latest networked intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and lethality capabilities" through "a series of high-tech network and equipment verification tests at its massive White Sands, New Mexico test range."

As part of what is being dubbed Technical Field Test (TFT), "Army engineers and product developers, supported by Soldiers of the Army Evaluation Task Force (AETF) [based at Fort Hood, Texas] and a host of industry partners, are actively testing performance aspects of unmanned ground and air vehicles, unattended sensors, an unattended munitions delivery system and the network that supports them."

Recent steps in the TFT test series reportedly included Soldiers from the AETF being "outfitted and tasked with passing data through the network in a field environment."

Test cases in the TFT included passing target and image data taken from networked equipment transitioned from the Future Combat Systems program to the new Army Brigade Combat Team Modernization plan. The equipment includes the Small Unmanned Ground Vehicle (SUGV), the Class 1, Block 0 Unmanned Air System (UAS), Unmanned Tactical and Ground Sensors (T-UGS and U-UGS) and the Non-Line of Sight Launch System (NLOS-LS).

By Scott R. Gourley, North American Group Editor