The American Future Combat System: the Future Combat System is the largest programme ever launched by the US Army. It is estimated to be worth $ 161 billion over the life of the project and aimed at replacing a wide spectrum of vehicles beginning in 2014.

The army's present heavy force is equipped with M1 A2 Abrams tanks, M2A3 Bradley fighting vehicles, M109A6 Paladin 155 mm self-propelled howitzers, M113 family armoured personnel carriers and M88A2 recovery vehicles. Designed independently in separate programmes over several decades, these vehicles have different levels of operational capability and survivability. Moreover, there is no logistics compatibility across this fleet. The FCS will replace these disparate vehicles with a modular fleet of combat vehicles.

In a significant change as a result of the lessons learned in Iraq the army has decided all eight manned FCS vehicles will incorporate an active protection system instead of the four vehicles originally planned. << In a 360-degree fight everything needs protection >>, said an Acquisition, Logistics and Technology official.

Industrial Set Up

On 6 February 2006 the Bush Administration asked Congress to approve a $ 439.3 billion defence budget for fiscal year 2007 (FY07). Despite media speculation that funding for the FCS might be reduced the administration is requesting $ 3.7 billion to continue the SDD phase next year and plans to spend $ 22.4 billion on FCS by 2011. Rejecting criticism that the FCS is not suited for the 'global war on terrorism' the Army's budget documents state << the FCS will provide full spectrum warfighting capability to deter, contain, stabilize or fight >>.

Boeing and SAIC are jointly serving as the Lead Systems Integrator (LSI) for the FCS programme. The Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command formalised the FCS Systems Development and Demonstration (SDD) contract in December 2003. The agreement established an upper limit of $ 14.78 billion for SDD through December 2011, although this figure has since become meaningless, as the army has restructured the project, in part to bring elements of FCS technology into service early with the legacy force.

The team assembled by the LSI included no fewer than 362 companies across 35 states in September 2005 when the annual FCS public briefing book was last published. This figure will grow before the next edition is released. At this stage there are 23 Tier 1 members of the 'FCS One Team' including General Dynamics Land Systems and BAE Systems, who are developing the manned vehicles.

The Army's networked system of systems (18+1+1) will consist of a C4ISR backbone, the soldier system and 18 'core FCS systems' in three categories:

* manned ground vehicles

* unmanned air vehicles and

* unmanned ground robotic vehicles.

Within the FCS family there will be eight MGVs, each with a top speed of 90 kmh and a range of 750 km.

Quarterly figures presented by the Department of Defense to Congress on 30 September 2005 stated that the FCS programme costs increased $ 62.541 billion (+63.3%) from $ 98.878 billion the previous quarter to $161.420 billion, due to programme restructuring (+$ 54.270 billion) and the stretching of the schedule by four years (+$ 8.270 billion). Under the revised FCS acquisition strategy announced in July 2004 the army is delaying the introduction of the manned vehicle family while accelerating the introduction of more mature FCS technologies. The idea is to expand the scope of the programme's system development and integration phase by adding four discrete 'spin outs' of capabilities. Spin Out 1 will be fielded in 2008 and consist of prototypes delivered to the Evaluation Brigade Combat Team. Following successful evaluation, production and fielding of Spin Out 1, equipment to the current force will begin in 2010. This process will be repeated for each successive spin out.

FCS technology will be incrementally fielded from 2008 in spirals, initially to an experimental brigade combat team. The first spiral is expected to include rocket-and missile-launchers and robotic ground sensors, and development of the Nlos-C will be expedited to allow its fielding in FY08. The second spiral should introduce a new tactical communications system and drones in FY10. The third spiral is expected to field autonomous ground robots in FY12. The fourth spiral in FY14 should see the FCS battle command system turn operational and the first experimental brigade unit of action equipped with FCS vehicles two to four years later than planned. Beginning in 2012 the Army will order sufficient vehicles each year to equip two brigades.

Eye of the Needle 

Since the inception of the FCS project the 'eye of the needle' driving the design of the manned ground vehicles was the requirement that each vehicle had to fit inside a US Air Force's C-130 Hercules aircraft for redeployment within a theatre of operations. In practical terms this meant a vehicle weight of less than 20 tonnes. However, there's been an evolution in thinking in the army on transportability. The real requirement is three FCS vehicles in a C-17. This shift in thinking will allow the weight of an individual FCS vehicle to reach 24 tonnes. Commanders in Iraq did not take the Stryker vehicles from Mosul to Baghdad in a C-130 because they would have had to do some disassembly. They just got on the highway and zoomed down there. They will be able to do the same thing with the FCS.

Manned Ground Vehicles

The Command and Control Vehicle (C2V), a General Dynamics Land Systems affair, will be deployed within headquarters sections at each echelon of the BCT down to the company level, replacing the M577A3 armoured command post. The C2V will have a crew of two, carry four command staff and be armed with a 12.7 mm machine gun or Mk 19 40 mm automatic grenade launcher for self-defence. The vehicle will carry an integrated command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C4ISR) suite.

The Reconnaissance and Surveillance Vehicle (RSV), also from General Dynamics, will replace the M3 Bradley Cavalry Fighting Vehicle, have a two-person crew and carry four scouts. According to the programme description the vehicle's suite of advanced sensors will enable it to detect, locate, track, classify and automatically identify targets from increased standoff ranges under all climatic conditions, day or night. Included in this suite are a mast-mounted, long-range electro-optic infrared sensor, an emitter mapping sensor for radio frequency (RF) intercept and direction finding, remote chemical detection capabilities, and a multi-function RF sensor. The RSV will also be equipped with unattended ground sensors, a small unmanned ground vehicle and two unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones. As the vehicle will rely upon stealth to gather information it will only be armed with a 12.7 mm machine gun or Mk 19 40 mm grenade launcher. The Infantry Combat Vehicle (ICV), under the auspices of BAE Systems, will be fielded in four versions to replace the M2 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle:

* Company Commander

* Platoon Leader

* Rifle Squad and

* Weapons Squad.

Each infantry platoon will be equipped with one Platoon Leader, Rifle Squad and one Weapons Squad variant. All variants will appear identical on the exterior. Whereas the M2 has a three-strong crew and dismounts seven men the ICV rifle squad vehicle will be operated by a crew of two and carry a nine-strong infantry squad. The vehicle's primary armament will be an ATK Mk 44 30/40 mm Bushmaster cannon.

The Mounted Combat System (MCS), the replacement for the MI tank from General Dynamics Land Systems, is intended to provide both line-of-sight (Los) and beyond line-of-sight (Blos) fire capability. It will have a crew of two and possibly carry two passengers. Under a co-operative research and development agreement between General Dynamics and Ardec the US Army's Bendt Laboratories is developing the XM360 lightweight 120 mm gun as the main armament.

A prototype Los/Blos 120 mm gun began firing tests at Aberdeen Proving Ground in November 2004. Following successful testing the weapon is ready for integration into the SDD phase. Under the present plans nine guns will be delivered between 2007 and 2009 for further testing and six guns will be delivered between 2009 and 2010 for integration into pre-production vehicles. The weapon will have the capability to destroy targets at ranges up to eight km. The vehicle's secondary armament will consist of a 12.7 mm machine gun and a 40 mm grenade launcher.

The Non Line-of-Sight Cannon (Nlos-C) from BAE Systems is the replacement for the M109A6 155 mm Paladin. It will also be a 155 mm weapon but will provide multiple-round simultaneous impact capability and a superior sustained rate of fire. A high level of automation will reduce the crew to only two members. It will have a 12.7 mm machine-gun or a Mk 19 40 mm grenade launcher for close-in defence. The concept technology demonstrator developed by United Defense (now BAE Systems) fired its first round at the Army's Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona on 26 August 2003 and passed the 1000-round milestone in mid-2005. This mounts the M776 39-calibre ordnance of the BAE Systems M777 towed 155 mm howitzer on a 20-tonne chassis and employs an automated loading system. The M776 ordnance is being replaced by a lighter 38-calibre barrel. In 2008 six Increment 0 prototypes are scheduled to join the test SDD programme. These will be followed in 2010 by three Increment 1 prototypes based on the objective chassis.

Non Line-of-Sight Mortar (Nlos-M), also from BAE Systems, will have a crew of four and be armed with a turreted 120 mm smoothbore mortar and a 12.7 mm machine-gun or 40 mm grenade launcher. It will replace the M1064 vehicle that fires its 120 mm mortar through an open hatch. Besides standard ammunition the Nlos-M will also fire the Precision Guided Mortar Munition. The mortar platoon will retain 81 mm lightweight mortars for operations in 'complex terrain'.

Medical and Evacuation Vehicle: these BAE Systems vehicles will be produced on a common chassis with two mission modules: treatment (MV-T) and evacuation (MV-E). It will replace the M577 ambulance. The objective is to << provide advanced trauma life support within one hour to critically injured soldiers >>. The MV-E will carry a four-strong crew and be able to evacuate up to four litter patients from the point-of-injury. The team aboard the MV-T will provide advanced trauma management and trauma life support treatments. Both MV mission modules will use networked telemedicine interfaces.

Maintenance and Recovery Vehicle (MRV), from BAE Systems, will have a crew of three with additional space for three recovered crew. The MRV will he able to perform field maintenance requirements beyond the capabilities of the crew chief/crew, more in-depth battle damage assessment and repair and limited recovery operations. It will be armed with a 12.7 mm heavy machine-gun and a 40 mm automatic grenade launcher.

Unmanned Ground Vehicles

BAE Systems is leading the Phase 1 engineering study effort to design and develop the Armed Robotic Vehicle; the largest of the unmanned vehicles. There will be two variants: the ARV-RSTA that will perform reconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition (RSTA) missions, and the ARV-Assault (ARV-A) variant that will undertake direct and indirect fire missions.

They will share a common 6 x 6 chassis powered by a six-cylinder diesel engine developing 217 hp. As an alternative an electric drive hybrid motor can be fitted. The ARV will be capable of accelerating from 0 to 48 kph in ten seconds, achieve a top road speed of 90 kph and have a range exceeding 400 kin. The vehicles will be fitted with a similar turret capable of traversing 180 degrees. The target weight of 8.5 tonnes will enable two vehicles to be carried by a C-130 Hercules or one inside a CH-47 Chinook transport helicopter.

The ARV will operate ahead of manned vehicles that will act as control platform, such as the RSV. Dismounted troops will also be able to direct the robots.

According to an army statement the ARVR will << remotely provide reconnaissance capability in urban military operations and other battlespace; deploy sensors, direct fire weapons and special munitions into buildings, bunkers, tunnels and other urban features; act as a communications relay; and assess battle damage >>. The ARV-R will have a five-metre telescopic mast mounting an electro-optical/ infrared/laser sensor package, a multifunction Ka-band radar and a nuclear, biological and chemical warfare sensor. The ARV-R will be able to deploy unattended ground sensors from a launcher mounted on the turret roof. The vehicle will be armed with the XM307 25 mm Advanced Crew Served Weapon, now being developed by General Dynamics, and carry 150 to 250 rounds of ammunition.

The AVR-A will << remotely provide reconnaissance capability; deploy sensors, direct-fire weapons, and special munitions into buildings, bunkers, and other urban features; locate or by-pass threat obstacles in buildings, bunkers, tunnels and other urban features; assess battle damage; acts as a communications relay; support the mounted and dismounted forces in the assault with direct fire and anti-tank weapons; and occupy key terrain and provide over-watching fire >>, according to the army statement. It will be armed with an ATK Mk 44 30/40 mm cannon and a pod of four beyond line-of-sight Common Missiles. The missile pod can be retracted into the turret for protection.

The company will deliver the first prototypes in 2010 while fielding to the first FCS-equipped team is scheduled for the 2012 to 2014 timeframe. A typical team will operate approximately 45 armed robotic vehicles.

In April 2005 United Defense received a $ 30.9 million contract from the US Army's Tardec to integrate state-of-the-art unmanned platform technologies leveraged from army and commercial developments into a representative armed robotic platform and test them in a series of demonstrations in September 2006 and March 2008.

The Mule (Multifunction Utility/Logistics and Equipment) is a 2.5-tonne, 6 x 6 robotic vehicle being developed by Lock heed Martin that will provide support to infantry units. It has three major components: a common chassis, an Autonomous Navigation System (ANS) and a Dismounted Control Device (DCD)--and is available in three mission variants. The Transport Mule is designed to carry equipment and supplies to support two dismounted infantry squads. It will also be suitable for casualty evacuation. The Armed Robotic Vehicle--Assault (Light) will be armed with a small-calibre gun and four missiles to support dismounted infantry soldiers.

The Countermine variant is designed to detect and neutralise mines and mark cleared lanes through minefields. The Mule's success is dependent upon << superior mobility >>.

It will feature an advanced 6 x 6 independent articulated suspension coupled to in-hub motors powering each wheel. This will allow it to climb a 1.5-metre step, cross a 1.5-metre gap, traverse slopes greater than 40%, ford water to a depth of 1.25 metres and cross obstacles as high as 0.5 metres. In June 2005 Lockheed Martin received a $ 61 million 'plus-up' to its 2003 SDD contract: this phase is expected to be worth more than $ 290 million. The modification increases the number of prototypes from 17 to 19, with the first prototypes scheduled for delivery in the third quarter of 2010 with final deliveries by June 2011.

The Sugv (Small Unmanned Ground Vehicle) developed by iRobot to conduct RSTA missions in tunnels, sewers, caves and so forth will be the smallest FCS platform and will be the man-portable. It will be a smaller, lighter more capable successor to iRobot's PackBot series, comprising the Explorer, Scout and EOD models, which is already in US service in Afghanistan and Iraq. In May 2005 the company had its funding boosted from $ 37.3 million to $ 51.4 million to expedite development.

The Sugv target weight is less than 13.6 kg, with a modular 'plug-and-play' payload of up to 2.72 kg. It should have an endurance of six hours and navigate up to 1000 metres from its operator above ground and up to 200 metres away in tunnels. The Sugv's articulated 'flipper' design gives it a high level of mobility in difficult terrain and enables it to self-right.

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

The system sees four classes of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) to provide a capability from platoon to brigade level.

The Mav (Micro Air Vehicle Mav) being developed by Honeywell under a two-phase Darpa advanced concept technology development contract is the preferred Class I drone to provide an RSTA capability at the platoon level by day and night. The Class 1 will have an endurance of 50 minutes over an area of eight km carrying either electro optical or infrared sensors. The system, including two air vehicles and a control unit, weighs about 18 kg and will be carried by one soldier. A ducted fan design allows the Mav to take-off and land vertically. The Mav is programmed for autonomous flight and navigation. After completing more than 200 flights the Mav reached technology readiness level 6 in October 2005, meaning that it is ready to transition to the FCS programme. Under a separate December 2004 contract, worth almost $ three million, Honeywell conducted a systems engineering analyses leading to a System Functional Review in March 2006; which could lead to a development contract from Boeing. Following a successful review Boeing intends to award an SDD contract to Honeywell.

The Class II drone is vehicle-mounted and intended for company level use and will have twice the endurance and a wider range of capabilities than the Class I. It will have the capability to designate targets in day, night and adverse weather, thus allowing the company commander to employ line-of-sight, beyond line-of-sight and non-line-of-sight fire. The UAV is intended to have an endurance of 120 minutes over a 16 km area. The system is to be portable by two soldiers.

The Class III will be employed for recce missions to support battalion level operations. The army is seeking an aircraft that can remain on station for six hours over a 40 km area and take-off and land without a dedicated airfield. In addition to the capabilities of the two smaller aircraft the Class III types will also pro vide communication relay, mine detection, chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear detection as well as meteorological survey.

In July 2005 Boeing awarded four contracts, each worth from $ three to $ five million, to three companies to participate in the first phase of Class II and Class III development. Piasecki Aircraft will develop its Air Scout system to meet the Class II requirement while for the Class Ill AAI will develop its Shadow III, Piasecki its Air Guard and Teledyne Brown Engineering its Prospector.

Development will be carried out in three phases with the LSI and Darpa developing different technologies in tandem until a final candidate system is selected for both drone classes. Darpa is conducting the Organic Air Vehicle II (OAV II) programme, which is focused on ducted fan technology for the Class II solution while the LSI is evaluating an alternative non-ducted fan approach. Darpa is investing rotorcraft technology for the Class III while the LSI is examining gyrocopter and fixed-wing designs. The ten-month Phase 1 includes requirements assessment and risk reduction trade studies that are intended to lead to selection in mid-2006 of one candidate for the Class III system and a decision on how to proceed with Class II development. The selected LSI and Darpa candidates will then be evaluated during a 24-month concept maturation phase that will culminate in a flight assessment of the developmental prototypes in 2008. A selection will then occur for the final system development and demonstration phase when the LSI, Army and Darpa will select the best-value solutions for each class of drone. Deliveries for system-of-systems testing will occur in 2010, with fielding of both classes scheduled for 2014.

The Class IV comes in the form of the MQ-8B Fire Scout (see title picture) being developed by Northrop Grumman for employment at the brigade level. In addition to RSTA missions the Army has specified unique missions including "dedicated manned and unmanned teaming with manned aviation, emitter mapping, wideband communication relay across 150 to 175 km and standoff chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and energy detection with on-board processing". The objective is an aircraft that can take-off and land without a dedicated airfield and conduct 72 hours of continuous operations.

Northrop Grumman is building eight prototypes for the Army and, under a separate project, is building four Fire Scouts for the US Navy. In July the Fire Scout successfully fired 2.75-inch rockets at Yuma Proving Ground and demonstrated its ability to deliver 'hundreds of pounds' of cargo carried in external bins and fly back to base. The following month it completed data and image relay, video transmissions and supplied delivery to a remote location during a series of tests and demonstrations that culminated with a fully autonomous flight demonstration for senior FCS officials. The missions were flown using the Army's One System ground control station. Northrop Grumman has offered to accelerate the Fire Scout's delivery for FCS from 2014 to between 2010 and 2012. Outside of the FCS programme the company has also proposed delivering Fire Scouts to the Army as early as FY07 for operational employment.

The Intelligent Munition System (IMS) is the responsibility of General Dynamics who is developing an unattended system to provide both [??]offensive battlespace shaping and defensive force protection capabilities[??]. The IMS will integrate lethal and non-lethal munitions with communication devices, sensors and seekers. IMS components can be hand-emplaced, remotely delivered or launched from a dispenser module carried on manned or unmanned ground vehicles. Once deployed the IMS will report its location to the Battle Command Mission Execution, one of the FCS command and control applications. This will allow the IMS to be turned off to allow the passage of friendly forces and then rearmed. Its munitions will be effective against personnel, light armoured vehicles and tanks. An initial operational capability will be available in 2009.

The Non Line-of-Sight (Nlos-LS) is developed by NetFires--a unit formed by Raytheon and Lockheed Martin. The weapon will be delivered to the Army in Spin Out 1 in FY08. The Nlos-LS will consist of the deployable, platform-independent Container Launch Unit (CLU), with self-contained tactical fire control electronics and software for remote and unmanned operations, which can be used to launch either Raytheon's Precision Attack Missile (Pam) or Lockheed Martin's Loitering Attack Missile (Lam). Each CLU will consist of a computer, communication system and 15 missiles. The Pam will have a range of about 40 km, is designed to defeat heavy armoured targets and can be launched on a fast-attack direct-fire trajectory or a boost-glide trajectory. The missile will receive target information prior to launch and respond to target location updates during flight. The Pam can be used in the laser-designated, 'laser-anointed' and autonomous operation modes. The missile will be capable of transmitting near-real-time target imagery prior to impact.

It will employ both a ladar seeker and automatic target recognition. In January Raytheon announced that the Lam's Multiple Explosively Formed Penetrator war head, being developed by Aerojet-General, had successfully completed another eight tests following the first four-test series reported in July. The warhead is configured to deliver 24 fragments in an expanding geometric pattern.

The Unattended Ground Sensors (UGS) is in the hands of a team formed by Textron Systems and Honeywell. The project is divided into two major subgroups: the Tactical-UGS, which includes the intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, and the Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear; and the Urban-UGS.

The UGS can be deployed by soldiers or robotic vehicles both inside and outside buildings to perform missions such as perimeter defence, surveillance, target acquisition and CBRN early warning.

Navigation

In May 2005 General Dynamics Robotic Systems, received from SAIC a $ 50.7 million

modification to its $186 million base contract for the FCS Autonomous Navigation System increasing its total value to approximately $ 237 million. The contract to develop the navigation system ground vehicles was awarded in December 2003 and the recent modification extends work from September 2009 to March 2013.

General Dynamics is responsible for the design, development, manufacture, integration and testing of a system that is capable of autonomously controlling the Mule, the Armed Reconnaissance Vehicle and the Manned Ground Vehicles. The new funding will cover additional Mule prototypes, development of the ARV and FCS Recovery and Maintenance Vehicle (FRMV) prototypes and will increase involvement in FCS Spin Out 3 to insert early technology capabilities into the field sooner.

Research in the robotics area benefits from additional Department of Defense funding. Last October General Dynamics Robotic Systems received a three-year funding extension from the US Army Research Laboratory, worth approximately $ 28 million, to continue its leadership of the Robotics Collaborative Technology Alliance (CTA) through FY09. Launched in 2001, the Robotics CTA is a consortium of academic, industrial and government partners focusing on the core autonomous systems capabilities that can be applied to the FCS ANS and projects such as the Mobile Detection and Response System. The company received an initial $ 42 million earmarked for robotics research, with an additional time and materials agreement that capped at $ 60 million for transitioning research products.

The Robotics CTA focuses on three key areas: perception technologies enabling robots to see and understand the environment, intelligent control architectures allowing autonomous planning and execution in tactical environments and human-machine interfaces capable of effectively tasking robots while minimising operator workload.

Powerpack

In August 2005 the Detroit Diesel 5L890 engine was selected by General Dynamics to power the entire MGV family. Since 2003 the US Army Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command has been evaluating two 6V 890 engines ordered the previous year to determine the type's suitability. Detroit Diesel will deliver 47 engines through 2011 and provide test support through 2015. Detroit Diesel is a DaimlerChrysler company along with MTU, which developed the core engine on company funds. The manufacturers describe the High Power Density engine as being only half as heavy and half as big as other modern diesels with the same power output. MTU is developing a complete propulsion system based on the Series 890 engine for the German Army's Puma, which is significantly heavier than the planned weight of FCS vehicles.

Fort Bliss to Lead

Boeing and US Army officials opened the $ 35 million Systems of Systems Integration Laboratory (SoSIL) in Huntingdon Beach, California on 28 January 2005. The SoSIL is a 140,000-square-foot testing and simulation lab that allows technicians and soldiers to develop, test and evaluate the FCS network that connects vehicles and warfighters on the battlefield. The facility is able to link suppliers and subcontractors across the United States in real time. The first models of simulators for the 18-FCS component were delivered in 2005, allowing the first 'full up' integration test to begin in October. This will culminate in spring 2006 with a mission test allowing soldiers to evaluate the effectiveness of the FCS in a simulated battle.

Field testing moved a step closer when the army announced in December 2005 that the FCS Evaluation Brigade Combat Team will be formed at Fort Bliss, Texas. Fort Bliss was chosen because it is the Army's largest post with a 1.2-million-acre training area and because it is close to White Sands Missile Range and Biggs Army Airfield. These combined facilities provide a large area of unrestricted airspace.

Key Performance Parameters

The complete FCS system of systems specification contains more than 10,000 technical requirements. All of these are derived from seven Key Performance Parameters (KPP) that the Army has stipulated the FCS must achieve:

* KPP 1 Joint Interoperability: The FCS must be jointly interoperable

* KPP 2 Networked Battle Command: The FCS network must enable battle command and provide situational awareness to the manned platform and dismounted soldier level

* KPP 3 Networked Lethality: The FCS must be capable of jointly-networked lethal and non-lethal effects that achieve overmatch--out of contact and in contact--at a tactical standoff range as well as in close combat to defeat the specified target sets

* KPP 4 Transportability: The FCS must be transportable worldwide by air, sea, highway and rail modes to support inter-theatre strategic deployment and intra-theatre operational manoeuvre

* KPP 5 Sustainability/Reliability: The FCS must maximize available combat power while achieving significant logistics footprint reductions and personnel efficiencies in the area of operations through reduced demand for maintenance and supply

* KPP 6 Training: The FCS must have an embedded individual and collective training capability that supports live, virtual and constructive training environments

* KPP 7 Survivability: The FCS must provide essential protection to mounted and dismounted soldiers through the best combination of ground and air systems.

Common Manned Vehicle Components

* Front engine with hybrid electric drive

* Close Combat Armament System

* EO/IR sensor

* Active protection system

* High voltage batteries

* Suspension

* Band track

* External communications

Survivability

Arguably the greatest challenge of the FCS project will be providing 20 to 24-tonne combat vehicles with a level of protection equal to that of the 70-tonne M1A2 or 35-tonne M2A3 Bradley IFV. The holistic approach to vehicle survivability being developed for FCS includes:

* a situational awareness capability that will enable US units to detect and identify an enemy before FCS units are at risk

* direct and indirect fire weapons with sufficient range to destroy the enemy before an FCS unit is detected

* signature reduction materials and coatings to reduce the risk of FCS vehicles being detected

* obscurants, jammers and signature reduction so the enemy cannot acquire the FCS

* active protection, jammers, decoys and obscurants to deflect enemy fire;

* armour systems--possibly including active, passive, reactive, electromagnetic and smart armour--to prevent the FCS being penetrated and

* protection measures including 'munitions response', 'shock response', fire suppression and personnel protection to ensure the survival of FCS crew members if a vehicle is penetrated.