Army Future Combat System (FCS) "Spin-Outs" and Ground Combat Vehicle (GCV): Background and Issues for Congress

Abstract

The Future Combat System (FCS) was a multiyear, multibillion dollar program at the heart of the Army's transformation efforts. It was to be the Army's major research, development, and acquisition program, consisting of 14 manned and unmanned systems tied together by an extensive communications and information network. FCS was intended to replace current systems such as the M-1 Abrams tank and the M-2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicle. The FCS program has been characterized by the Army and others as a high-risk venture because of the advanced technologies involved and the challenge of networking all of the FCS subsystems together so that FCS-equipped units could function as intended. On April 6, 2009, Secretary of Defense Gates announced that he intended to significantly restructure the FCS program. The Department of Defense (DoD) would then plan to accelerate the spin out of selected FCS technologies to all brigade combat teams (BCTs). Gates also recommended cancelling the manned ground vehicle (MGV) component of the program, which was intended to field eight separate tracked combat vehicle variants built on a common chassis that would eventually replace the M-1 Abrams tank, the M-2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicle, and the M-109 Paladin self-propelled artillery system. In October 2009, the Army announced a new BCT modernization strategy to implement Gates's restructuring announcement. Some of the key tenets of this strategy are as follows: deliver capability packages consisting of key FCS technologies and warfighter urgent requirements in 2-year increments; get some FCS spin-outs -- capabilities from the FCS program aimed at the current force -- to the field in the FY2011-FY2012 capabilities package; upgrade select core Army systems; fully integrate MRAP Vehicles into formations; and develop a Ground Combat Vehicle (GCV) concept focused on building a versatile platform incorporating combat lessons learned, and field the system by 2017.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Nov 30, 2009
Accession Number
ADA511572

Entities

People

  • Andrew Feickert
  • Nathan J. Lucas

Organizations

  • Library of Congress

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Autonomy
  • Biomedical
  • C4I
  • Ground and Sea Platforms
  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes
  • Sensors
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Aircrafts
  • Armored Vehicles
  • Combat Vehicles
  • Detectors
  • Ground Vehicles
  • Howitzers
  • Infantry Fighting Vehicles
  • Military Science
  • Self Propelled Guns
  • Situational Awareness
  • Test And Evaluation
  • Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
  • Unmanned Ground Vehicles
  • Unmanned Systems
  • Unmanned Vehicles
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Life Cycle Cost Analysis
  • Public Financial Management and Budgeting
  • Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) Autonomous Capabilities and Mission Reconnaissance.

Technology Areas

  • Autonomy