Defense chief to tap Army modernization funds for new vehicle program

CARLISLE, Pa. -- Defense Secretary Robert Gates Thursday pledged to use the money once tagged for the ground vehicle portion of the Army's Future Combat Systems to launch a new vehicle program better suited for future ground combat operations.

In a speech at the Army War College during a week-long tour to build support for his budget plan, Gates said he would request "substantial money" in his fiscal 2010 budget request to jumpstart the program when he sends his full proposal to Capitol Hill next month.

"My hope is that we can be ready to move forward in fiscal 2011," he said. "And I have directed that all money for FCS in the out-years be protected to fund the new vehicle modernization program."

The vehicle portion of FCS was valued at $87 billion -- more than half the total cost of the "system of systems" that also includes unmanned air and ground vehicles and sensors tied together by an intricate electronic network.

On April 6, Gates announced the cancellation of the eight types of manned ground vehicles planned for the program, saying they were designed nearly a decade ago and lacked adequate defenses against roadside bombs and other threats faced by forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"The premise behind the design of these vehicles was that lower weight, greater fuel efficiency and, above all, near-total situational awareness, would compensate for less heavy armor," Gates said Thursday.

But that premise, he added, was "belied by the close-quarters combat, urban warfare, and increasingly lethal forms of ambush that we've seen in both Iraq and Afghanistan, and that we are likely to see elsewhere as other adversaries probe for and find ways to turn our strengths against us."

Gates said he now wants the Army to re-evaluate its requirements for ground vehicles in light of its experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"Though the Army currently holds a comfortable margin of dominance over any conventional ground force, the service clearly must have a new, modernized fleet of combat vehicles to replace the Cold War inventory," he said. "But before we spend 10 years and $90 billion, and before we send young soldiers downrange, we had better be sure to get it right -- or as close to right as we can."

Gates acknowledged that Army leaders disagreed with his decision to scrap the FCS ground vehicles, but he said his proposal has the support of the chairman and vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The new vehicles, Gates said, would be awarded under a competitive bidding process. General Dynamics Corp. and BAE Systems were slated to build the ground vehicles.

Meanwhile, Gates reiterated his commitment to speeding development on proven FCS technologies needed on the battlefield.

The Warfighter Information Network portion of FCS, a secure, high-speed multimedia telecommunications system, would be among those accelerated and "will dramatically increase the agility and situational awareness of the Army's combat formations," Gates said.

The secretary said he wants to develop a mix of weapons that allows the military to respond to a wide spectrum of potential threats.

"Focusing exclusively, or obsessively, on a single weapons system designed to do a specific job or confront a single adversary ignores what a truly joint force can and must do in the 21st century," he said.

Gates later told reporters the FCS vehicles' lack of a V-shaped hull to deflect roadside bombs was "symptomatic" of other recent combat lessons the Army failed to apply to the vehicle design.

Speaking while en route to the Navy War College in Newport, R.I., where he will speak Friday, Gates also emphasized that the Army's vision of a common chassis for all eight vehicles may not be as effective as fielding a more diverse fleet that gives ground commanders a mix of vehicles of varying sizes to choose from.