AFN, Washington DC: A functional review of the Future Combat Systems program earlier this month opened the way for testing and development of FCS technologies for brigade combat teams.
The FCS technologies include new unmanned aerial and ground vehicles, a common chassis for eight different ground vehicles, smart munitions, unattended ground sensors, a new mortar, the Non-Line-of-Site Cannon, an NLOS launch system and a network to tie all these systems together. There is also a “spin out” of technologies scheduled for fielding to an “experimental unit” in 2008, and fielding to other units of action in 2010, officials said.
Functional review spans 24 sites
The “System of Systems” Functional Review lasted five days during early August and included almost 40 briefings at 24 different sites across the country, said Brig. Gen. Charles Cartwright, program manager for the Unit of Action. He said it was the most extensive review of the FCS program to date.
The review was conducted by the Army and the FCS Lead Systems Integrator, a partnership between Boeing and Science Applications International Corp., or SAIC. About 6,000 employees are currently involved in developing the Future Combat Systems, said Dennis Muhlenburg, vice president and general manager of the FCS Lead Systems Integrator.
The review confirmed that the LSI had met 202 “closure criteria” for FCS, and it examined 550 operational requirements converted into 11, 000 engineering requirements, Cartwright said.
It also identified all of the requirements for a unit of action, Cartwright said; not just the equipment, but also the doctrine, training, tactics, techniques, and procedures that must be developed.
Review focuses on BCT units of action
“The framework for an FCS unit of action is now established,” Cartwright said.
Dan Zanini, deputy program manager of the FCS Lead Systems Integrator, compared the functional review to building a house. He said it was like going from an artist
