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New Report Lays Waste to Army 'Future'

Future Combat Systems — the Army’s long-troubled, mega-expensive reboot — is already in deep trouble. The last thing it needed was a scathing new review from Congress’ investigative arm. But according to InsideDefense.com, that’s exactly what’s about to happen. The Government Accountability Office has prepared a "highly critical report" that "questions the fundamentals of the […]

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Future Combat Systems -- the Army's long-troubled, mega-expensive reboot -- is already in deep trouble. The last thing it needed was a scathing new review from Congress' investigative arm.

But according to InsideDefense.com, that's exactly what's about to happen. The Government Accountability Office has prepared a "highly critical report" that "questions the fundamentals of the program, from its maturity level to its budget."

The, um, future, of the Army's gazillion dollar project to make the force lighter, more lethal, and better-networked is already in question. Not only has the program been rejiggered, over and over again. But the climate for these kind of high-tech projects has suddenly grown cold. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has noted that "the spigot of defense funding opened by 9/11 is closing," he said. Programs like Future Combat Systems, which focus on tomorrow's "conventional and strategic conflicts" over today's small-and-dirty wars, are the most likely to get caught as that spigot closes.

To stave off "drastic measures by senior Pentagon officials or lawmakers," Defense News recently reported, the Army is looking "kill[ing] or delay[ing]," half of the new tanks, cannon, and personnel carriers at the heart of FCS. But those cuts may not be enough.

Advocates of restructuring or cutting back on FCS will find ammunition in the draft report. In it, GAO asserts that FCS is "unlikely to be executed" for the $159 billion the Army says it will cost...

Moreover... GAO states that the Army has already spent 60
percent of its FCS development funds even though "the most expensive activities remain to be done before the production decision" in 2013.

The report is set to be released next week. Next comes a pair of
Congressional hearings on FCS. The House Armed Services Committee meets on March 17th. Two weeks later, the House Appropriations defense subcommittee will examine FCS' fate.

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