Gates to Army: Speed up ground combat vehicle program
Pentagon chief wants to shave some time off the seven-year plan to develop and buy the vehicle.
FORT LEAVENWORTH, Kan. -- Defense Secretary Robert Gates Friday expressed impatience with the Army's seven-year plan to develop and buy a new ground combat vehicle, saying he hopes the service can put the new vehicle into the field faster.
Speaking to students at the Army's Combined Arms Center here, Gates said he has spoken with Army leaders about his desire to "carve some time off of that seven years."
He pointed to the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicle, which the military procured rapidly to fill an immediate need in Iraq and Afghanistan, as an example of an acquisition success story.
But Gates did express his support for the GCV effort, which would replace the manned ground vehicle portion of the $160 billion Future Combat Systems that the defense secretary scrapped last year.
"I remain committed to the Army's ground vehicle modernization program -- but it has to be done in a way that reflects the lessons that we've learned the last few years about war in the 21st Century," he said.