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ARMY ACCELERATES SELECTED FCS CAPABILITIES

July 22, 2004

The Army announced today that it is accelerating the delivery of selected Future Combat Systems (FCS) capabilities to the Current Force. The Army is committed to providing our Soldiers the best equipment possible and FCS will remain the cornerstone of the Army's transformational program.

Upon reviewing lessons learned in combat since the War of Terrorism began and conducting a detailed analysis of our current and future threat environment, the Army's leadership concluded that certain changes are necessary in the FCS Program. These changes will mature and accelerate the most critical and promising technologies within the FCS, enabling the Army to start fielding initial network capabilities to the current force in FY 2008. This action will significantly increase connectivity and intelligence and information sharing within our combat formations. The additional remaining capabilities will be selectively fielded to the force based upon operational demands from 2010 through 2014. This approach allows the Army to incorporate technological developments as new technologies mature, while maintaining a comprehensive approach to the development of the Army's new Future Force. Systems acceleration will enable the commander to execute the battle with superior situational awareness, shape the battlefield with standoff precision fires and effects with long-range non-line of sight (NLOS) weapon systems and enhance synchronized operations through an integrated network.

The Future Combat Systems (FCS) is a joint (across all the military services) networked (connected via advanced communications) systems of systems (one large system made up of 18 individual systems plus the network and Soldier- often referred to as 18 plus one plus one). A Soldier, linked to these platforms and sensors, has access to data that can provide a much more accurate picture of what's going on around him. This capability is called situational awareness- knowing where you are, where your friends are, and where your foes are.

We are an Army at war for a nation at war. The technological improvements inherent in FCS can, and should be, incorporated into the current force as they become available. This approach provides a sound programmatic link between the current and future force while maintain the overarching goal of the FCS program.

-END-

For more information please contact Major Desiree Wineland, U.S. Army Public Affairs

at (703) 697-7592, Desiree.Wineland@hqda.army.mil