Army news release (June 19, 2006): Future Combat System approved for first spin out.

The Department of Defense approved June 6 the Army's acquisition approach for the first of the Future Combat System (FCS) Brigade Combat Team (BCT) technologies that will be spun out to troops to begin testing and evaluation as early as 2008. Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Ken Krieg also approved the criteria that will be met before the capabilities go into production. The decision, which was the result of the FCS (BCT) program review initiated in May 2006, requires the Army to prepare for an interim program review in late 2008.

The FCS (BCT) program manager, Maj. Gen. Charles Cartwright, welcomed the decision. "This approval is the latest in a long series of benchmarks that confirms this program is on target with cost and schedule, and is performing to plan," he said. Cartwright added, "This is an important step on the way toward implementing the Army's long overdue comprehensive modernization program and we're looking forward to getting these technologies into our soldiers' hands as soon as they're ready"

Spin Out One is composed of several systems designed to improve lethality and survivability for soldiers in the near future. These include:

* Non-Line-of-Sight--Launch System (NLOS-LS) will provide soldiers with precise artillery fire power while requiring fewer personnel and decreased logistical support than conventional systems.

* Unmanned Ground Sensors (UGS)--variants, both Urban and Tactical, will detect combatants in buildings, on foot, and in vehicles. The Tactical UGS will provide the added capability beyond detection of classifying Tactical vehicles.

* The Intelligent Munitions Systems (IMS) provides a tactical network of sensors and lethal/non-lethal effects to deploy, enable, and disable a smart field of munitions, which are more lethal to enemy combatants, provide increased mobility to friendly forces, and pose less risk to non-combatants than legacy munitions.

These systems are among the first that will be tested by the Evaluation Brigade Combat Team, whose mission is to support FCS evaluation and training. The EBCT will be established at Fort Bliss, Texas, in June 2007, and will conduct testing and evaluation at Fort Bliss and White Sands Missile Range. To find out more about FCS and the EBCT go to <http://www.army.mil/fcs/>.