Future Combat Systems: Fresh Cuts
 Future Combat Systems (FCS), the joint U.S. military plan for transformation into a fast, light, and decisive twenty-first century warfighting force, has taken a hit. The $160 billion project is a cherished favorite of the Department of Defense, but even so, budget restraints have made it vulnerable to cuts, and the war in Iraq has cast doubts on its concepts. FCS, as originally conceived, will be a system of systems made up of 18 technologies (18), linked to a global network (18+1), plus the Future Force Warrior (18+1+1). These systems, interwoven with real-time speed, would allow instant transfer of key information and communications over vast distances among joint forces, allowing precise situational awareness and complete battlefield dominance with reduced casualties and losses of materiel.
In the Army's February 5 budget request, FCS, its largest weapons program, is slated for around $3.5 billion in research and development funds for next year. This budget defers four projects and slows the production schedule. Critics claim that the project is too costly and complex. They state that advanced U.S. technology in Iraq has been unable quell the proliferation of crude devices such as improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Champions of the program fear that more cuts are inevitable. Army officials are attempting to reduce the number of projects in development. For example, commanders are examining the possibility of cutting two types of unmanned vehicles. They could also reduce the numbers of vehicles that they buy, and some unmanned aerial systems could be on the chopping block as well.
One program, killed outright, is General Dynamics' Land Warrior. The $2 billion 10-year-long program has been terminated. Land Warrior was to be the system designed to connect every warfighter to the FCS network. It includes a combat helmet with an optical display attachment, a modified M-4 rifle, and a 12-hour lithium-ion battery for its voice/data radio, GPS, multiuse laser, and computer. The optical viewer enables warfighters to use a cursor to send messages, call for support or medical attention, mark a target, or take a photo and send it to command. Problems with the project included its system's weight and the life of the battery. Program officers said last December that they were making significant strides toward solving these issues.
Regardless of the facts that the system was cumbersome and the project is dead, the Fourth Stryker Brigade Combat Team at Fort Lewis, Washington, will be the first unit to take the system into Iraq. As a part of President Bush's surge effort, the unit will be deployed soon, months ahead of its schedule. The unit has been testing and training with the system for more than a year, and the soldiers requested that they be allowed to take the doomed Land Warrior into theatre because there is no time for retraining. The deployment will be a futile but fascinating study of the capacities of the project. Military officials will procure parts and guarantee maintenance to support the Land Warrior troops throughout their deployment in Iraq.
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