Future Combat Systems Minus Vehicles
By
Bob Brewin
As expected, the Obama administration took a budget axe to the Army Future Combat Systems program. It chopped all of the project's eight manned ground vehicles from the program for a savings of $22.9 billion, according to the <a href=http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/TRS/>Terminations, Reductions and Savings section</a> of the proposed fiscal 2010 federal budget released today.
As expected, the Obama administration took a budget axe to the Army Future Combat Systems program. It chopped all of the project's eight manned ground vehicles from the program for a savings of $22.9 billion, according to the Terminations, Reductions and Savings section of the proposed fiscal 2010 federal budget released today.
But the section said the Defense Department intends to "retain and accelerate the fielding of other FCS capabilities which have demonstrated success, such as unmanned ground and aerial vehicles and the unattended sensors." The Office and Management and Budget estimated the cost of these systems at $24.5 billion through 2015.
Unmanned FCS systems include the small unmanned ground vehicle developed by iRobot, which makes smart vacuum cleaners and the backpack-sized Micro Air Vehicle, which is fielded in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The FCS ground sensors include a video camera equipped gizmo that can work during day or night and a gadget that can detect radiation, along with a Gateway Node, which transmits information gathered by the sensors.
The ground and aerial vehicles carry video cameras for surveillance and reconnaissance. I hope to see them all during a long-awaited trip to Ft. Bliss, Texas, later this month to see a demo of what remains of FCS.