Where Does All the Computer Power Go?

Reference: "The Army's $200 Billion Makeover: March to Modernize Proves Ambitious and Controversial" by Alec Klein, The Washington Post, December 7, 2007

The U.S. Army Future Combat Systems, or FCS, project involves creating a family of 14 weapons, drones, robots, sensors and hybrid-electric combat vehicles connected by a wireless network. The FCS has turned into the most ambitious modernization of the Army since World War II and the most expensive Army weapons program ever, military officials say.

The Army said the overall program will cost $124 billion. That's $162 billion when inflation is factored in. Independent estimates from the office of the Secretary of Defense put the program at between $203 billion and $234 billion. The program is expected to take up about half of the Army's procurement budget in 2015 and stay at about that level over the next decade.

The software development for the FCS is the largest in Defense Department history. In 2003, when the project began, the Army estimated it would need 33.7 million lines of code; it's now 63.8 million.

A new FCS weapon called the Non-Line of Sight Launch System, or NLOS-LS, is basically a box of rockets; these rockets can automatically change direction in midair and hit a moving target about 24 miles away.

The FCS Multifunctional Utility/Logistics and Equipment (MULE) Vehicle is a 2.5-ton Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV) that will support dismounted and air assault operations. The MULE has three variants: transport, countermine and the Armed Robotic Vehicle-Assault-Light (ARV-A-L). The Countermine MULE Vehicle (MULE-CM) is to provide the capability to detect, mark and neutralize anti-tank mines by integrating a mine detection mission equipment package. The unmanned robotic ARV-Assault-Light (ARV-A-L) MULE is a mobility platform with an integrated weapons and reconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition (RSTA) package to support the dismounted infantry.

An unmanned areal vehicle (UAV). a remote-controlled hovering craft built by Honeywell that weighs 29 pounds, is another of the devices to emerge from Future Combat Systems. The drone, essentially a cylinder on legs, uses a rotary fan to fly like a helicopter and comes with infrared night vision. It is to interact with the network and soldiers to dynamically update routes and target information during combat. It thus is to provide dedicated reconnaissance support and early warning to the smallest echelons of the Brigade Combat Team (BCT) in environments not suited to larger vehicles.

A similarly conceived FCS device is a robot called a Small Unmanned Ground Vehicle, or SUGV. Built by iRobot, it weighs less than 30 pounds, runs on rubber tracks and features a long, flexible neck with a camera and sensors perched on top. Soldiers use controllers similar to Microsoft's Xbox to remotely navigate the robots in caves, tunnels and sewers. Some 1200 are already in use in Iraq where they have defused thousands of IEDs.

The program also involves the development of a new combat vehicle with heavy armor to protect soldiers; each is to weigh between 27 and 30 tons. The army has plans for eight vehicles sharing the same armored hull and many of the same integrated systems. The Infantry Carrier Vehicle (ICV) is to effectively employ weapon systems and rapidly maneuver during blackout, day and night operations, inclement weather, and limited visibility periods. Using the ICV, the army squad is to have access to Army and Joint fire delivery systems from external sources to provide extended range, networked responsive precision or volume fires on demand in support of tactical maneuvers. The ICV can move, shoot, communicate, detect threats, and protect crew and critical components under most land-surface environments. Data transfer with other components of the BCT permits constant update of the common operational picture and rapid identification of targets. The ICV features the MK44 30mm cannon as its primary armament plus a 7.62 machine gun.

In the conceptualization of the FCS a team of about 700, including members of the Army, Air Force, Marines, the CIA and civilian scientists, participate in war games over a two year period in a huge simulation center at the U.S. Army War College.

The Army program now involves more than 550 contractors. The Army assembled about 1,000 soldiers, called the Army Evaluation Task Force, or AETF, this summer to test the FCS.

The Army is quickly to field an FCS brigade with eight manned combat vehicles linked with six unmanned vehicles, drones, robots and sensors involving about 50 critical technologies.