Associated Press May 12, 2003
Cannon system could be headed for Elgin
A decision expected this week by the Pentagon could lead to a next-generation artillery system being built in Elgin.
The town of about 1,000 had been selected by defense contractor United Defense as the future production home of the Army's Crusader system, but that system was scrapped by the Bush administration in favor of a lighter, leaner cannon.
United Defense is now trying to adapt the technology gained from its Crusader program to that of a long-range, non-line-of-sight cannon system that is part of the Pentagon's Future Combat Systems.
A decision on the FCS program is expected Wednesday at a defense acquisition board meeting. If the program is approved, Elgin will be on its way toward becoming the site for building and testing the cannon.
"We fully expect the defense acquisition board to make the approval," United Defense spokesman Jeff Van Keuren told The Daily Oklahoman. "And we fully anticipate coming to Elgin where we would assemble and test the new system."
United Defense, based in Arlington, Va., began developing the cannon in August after winning a $27 million contract with the U.S. Army. Approval of the FCS program means the contractor would continue developing the artillery system in October.
Congress already has set aside $368.5 million for fiscal 2003, said U.S. Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., and Ryan Thompson, a spokesman for Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla. Congress will have to secure additional money for the program each year.
"That money is already guaranteed for this year," Cole said. "But if there is one thing I've learned since coming to Washington, it is if you're sitting on a pot of money, you had better treat it as though you're shepherding a wagon across the badlands ... We'll be riding shotgun on this one."
Van Keuren said construction of the plant would begin in spring 2006. The United Defense plant is projected to produce 150 jobs and an annual payroll of between $5 million and $6 million, according to an economic impact study completed for Elgin in February. The study also projected that the plant and related businesses would bring $32 million in construction to the area.
United Defense also projects an additional "200 to 300 jobs" from companies that will support the artillery system, Van Keuren said.
Some military experts question whether a heavy gun can be mounted on a light armored vehicle that weighs less than 20 tons. The system must be operational by 2010.
"I think it's a really big leap from the Crusader," said John Pike, a military defense analyst who heads GlobalSecurity.org, a military research group. "When one stops to think about all of the FCS projects, this one definitely has the highest degree of technological risks. This is the one that is going to take the longest time to implement.
"They're going to take a 20-ton platform and mount a heavy cannon. Think about how it will absorb the recoil. How big a bullet can they shoot?"
These are questions United Defense plans to answer in September when the system undergoes its first round of demonstrations, Van Keuren said.
"That will obviously be a very important time for us," Van Keuren said. "That's why we're really looking forward to that demonstration - to show that we do have the technology."
Copyright © 2003, Associated Press State & Local Wire
