CBO Testimony: The Army's Future Combat Systems Program
Abstract
CBO's analysis of the FCS program and potential alternatives supports the following observations: B The FCS program must surmount substantial technical and funding challenges if it is to develop and initially field all of the individual FCS components as currently scheduled by December 2014. B According to the Army's estimates, total annual costs to purchase the various FCS components could approach $10 billion. However, if such costs grew as those of similar programs have in the past, annual costs could reach $16 billion. B Moreover, if the Army fields FCS vehicles according to its current schedule, more than $2 billion of additional funding could be needed annually from 2010 through 2016 with lesser amounts required thereafter to maintain and upgrade the Army s inventory of aging ground combat systems. B Although one of the main purposes of the FCS program is to speed the movement of Army combat units overseas, replacing the current fleet of armored vehicles with FCS vehicles will not significantly reduce deployment times. B Alternatives to the currently planned FCS program that would eliminate all or part of the program s ground vehicles while retaining its communications equipment and, in some cases, its sensors would reduce the program s annual costs to about $6 billion to $7 billion. Under such alternatives, the Army would incorporate some of those technologies into its current armored vehicles and upgrade those vehicles at the same time, thereby increasing their capabilities and extending their useful lives. However, if it did so, the Army would forgo the potential benefits of the capabilities it now seeks in the FCS program.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 04, 2006
- Accession Number
- ADA446820
Entities
People
- J. M. Gilmore
Organizations
- Congressional Budget Office