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News Index
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Sleek Army of the Future Looks to Technology Companies (Providence Journal)
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(Providence Journal) Feb. 7--WILMINGTON, Mass. -- The Army envisions itself in the next decade being a trimmed-down, fast-moving, commando-style force supported by new weaponry and linked by wireless computer systems.
The Army's $125-billion Future Combat System is seen by some in the military and the defense industry as the answer to the evolving nature of warfare -- on display in Iraq -- where splintered combatants use urban battlefields and remotely detonated bombs to their advantage.
"We're modernizing the U.S. Army . . . moving it from a generation of industrialized equipment . . . to a complete set of new technologies," said Daniel R. Zanini, an executive with Science Applications International Inc.
Zanini spoke about the ambitious project yesterday at a defense industry conference as the Bush administration forwarded its defense budget request to Congress. The proposed spending reflects the administration's concept of making the military more mobile, better connected and better equipped for a long war against terrorism.
The Future Combat System, with Chicago-based Boeing Co. as the main contractor, would receive $3.7 billion in fiscal 2007 and a total of $22.4 billion by 2011 under the Bush proposal. The plan budgets $3.3 billion for the system and $435 million for non-line-of-sight artillery being developed as part of it.
Textron Systems, of Wilmington, would provide surveillance and weapons sensors for the system. The company, a division of Providence-based Textron Inc., hosted yesterday's conference. It was 1 of 10 such regional meetings held recently to promote the system.
Textron Systems is one of about 40 New England companies working on some aspect of the network that would link 18 manned and unmanned combat systems. Overall, 535 companies in 40 states are contributing to the network.
"FCS is a key economic driver for New England," said Chris Anderson, president of the Massachusetts High Technology Council, noting that the region's companies have received $7 billion in contracts tied to the system.
Critics, such as Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., are scrutinizing the Army's modernization program.
As chairman of the Senate Armed Services subcommittee for air and land combat, McCain questioned the procurement process and worried aloud during a subcommittee hearing last March about reports that the system would cost $133 billion and take until 2016 to deploy, four years later than originally predicted.
"I'm not sure the Army can afford the FCS program as it is currently structured," McCain said in his opening remarks at the subcommittee hearing.
Proponents say the system's computer network would help soldiers make combat decisions quicker and better. It would replace the current mix of tanks and armored vehicles with a mix of ground and aerial vehicles.
"Part of what we're trying to do is get the information out to soldiers in time for them to act on it," said Zanini, a former Army lieutenant general.
Rep. Marty Meehan, D-Mass., whose 5th Congressional District includes Wilmington, spoke in defense of the system yesterday.
"There are investments, as a country, we cannot afford not to make," Meehan told the conference attendees. Meehan, who sits on the House subcommittee on unconventional threats, said, "We're going to pay a price if we don't redouble our efforts" in research and development projects such as the Future Combat System.
The Army began showing off various parts of the combat system last fall and has been holding the conferences to bring together defense contractors working on the program and media representatives.
Yesterday's presentation included live and video demonstrations of:
--PackBot Explorer -- built by iRobo
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Video: May 16 Breakfast with Congresswoman Tsongas at Mercury Computer Systems (7/7/08)
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Hanscom Could Be Site of Cyber Command Center (3/20/08)
Bay State Officials Target Air Force Cyber R&D Dollars (1/4/08)
Natick Labs: Business, Military Putting Their Brains Together (11/27/07)
Base Realignments Lead Tech Firms to Ocean State (11/20/07)
Amid Bio Push, Older Tech Firms Look for Love (11/16/07)
Collaboration is Critical to Mass. Defense Sector (9/7/07)
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