Army 'restructuring' Future Combat System

The Hill:

The Army is planning to drastically reduce its ambitious modernization program, known as Future Combat Systems, according to congressional, industry and Pentagon sources.

Army Chief of Staff George Casey was expected to meet with four- and three-star Army generals on Saturday to discuss plans for restructuring. Army officials are expected to have several other meetings over the next few weeks.

The Future Combat Systems (FCS) is designed to make the Army lighter and more agile through an intricate web of manned and unmanned ground and aerial vehicles all linked together by a digital network. At a price tag of at least $160 billion, it is the Army’s most expensive weapons program ever.

Boeing and Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC) are the main contractors for FCS with the task of integrating the various technologies and managing scores of subcontractors.

Details on the restructuring plan are scant and closely held, but sources told The Hill that the plan includes cutting out four of the eight manned vehicles that were initially supposed to be developed.

The two contractors working on the manned vehicles are General Dynamics and BAE Systems.

The four remaining vehicles will be evenly split between the two defense giants.

The vehicles that the Army is likely to seek funding for are the non-line of sight cannon, the reconnaissance vehicle, the infantry carrier vehicle and the command and control vehicle, according to industry sources.

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Restructuring is a term often associated with bankruptcy. I suspect the Army is anticipating the cuts that Obama wants in defense spending. As i nave noted previously, I think this is a mistake not only for the military, but for the economy. The jobs created by these programs are more productive than infrastructure jobs and the addition to our total knowledge grows exponentially from thse jobs.