thedrifter
07-02-07, 07:14 AM
Corps, other services may buy Army FCS technology
By Kris Osborn - kosborn@militarytimes.com
Posted : July 09, 2007
The Marine Corps, Navy and even the Air Force may buy armored vehicles, sensors and networking gear being developed for the Army’s Future Combat Systems, which would give joint backing to the embattled $164 billion modernization program.
“The Marines are expected to buy the FCS armored vehicles, at least a certain number of the eight-man ground variants. It would be great if they bought all of them. We would be saving in production costs as well as maintenance and logistics,” said an official with the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command.
The Corps is also looking at FCS networking gear the Army is developing.
“Down the line, the Marine Corps will step up and buy a lot of this, and it might also lower the long-term production costs. If you have the Marines also buying it, the price should come down,” the TRADOC official said.
Corps officials acknowledged interest but stopped short of commitment.
All the U.S. services will be watching as the Army deploys various FCS technologies in the run-up to the fielding of the first full brigade combat team in 2015.
Army officials said other branches are interested in the FCS computer systems that draw data from the network and distribute it around the fire-control and navigational computers aboard an armored vehicle. These include the System of Systems Common Operating Environment, Integrated Computer Systems and the wireless communications device, the Joint Tactical Radio Systems.
“We’ve had interest in SOSCOE from the Air Force and Navy,” said Scott Davis, the Army’s FCS deputy program manager for operations. Air Force and Navy officials did not respond to queries by press time.
But the Corps has a deep interest in the program and have embedded people with various Army FCS offices and units to learn about the nascent systems.
“We work hand in hand on a variety of solutions. Sometimes it’s gear and sometimes it’s war-fighting concepts,” said Marine Maj. Jay Delarosa, a spokesman for Marine Corps headquarters.
For instance, during a February experiment at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., Marines tested the FCS’ Micro Air Vehicle and Unmanned Ground Sensors in simulated combat.
Other Marines will be embedded with the Army’s FCS evaluation task force when it stands up at Fort Bliss, Texas, later this year, Army officials said. The unit will begin testing vehicles equipped with the battlefield network gear in the lead-up to a major exercise in July 2008, Army spokesman Paul Mehney said.
For their part, Army FCS leaders have returned the interest by sending troops to work in relevant Marine offices.
“We have put some of our folks in Quantico to work that issue,” Davis said. “We have embedded with them and are working on how they want to do battle command and how that works into our network. They were intrigued, but they were not sure how the FCS battle command fits with their requirements. We have contributed some money to have Boeing and our guys to work with them.”
Even engineers from Boeing, which, with SAIC, is the program’s lead systems integrator, have been sent to learn about Marine battle command technologies and how they might hook up to the FCS network.
“The Marines have been interested in buying portions of FCS,” Boeing spokeswoman Mary McAdam said.
Some parts of the sprawling FCS program have long had joint involvement. The Fire Scout unmanned helicopter was originally a Navy program, and the sea service is still involved with the Non-Line-of-Sight gun. And the main tactical network node will be the Joint Tactical Radio Systems, now being purchased by the thousands in several variants. These software-defined radios will pass encrypted voice, video and data on the battlefield.
FCS will get a good multiservice wringing-out during Joint Expeditionary Force Experiment 2008. Slated for February and March at bases around the U.S., the exercise will use command-and-control technology from all of the services in war-fighting simulations.
FCS officials say they see the exercise as something of a coming-out for their systems. They want to prove FCS gear can keep tabs on friendly and enemy forces and move targeting data from sensors to shooters wearing many different uniforms, according to a written statement from Air Force Col. Stephen Moulton, modernization and innovation director at the Air Force’s Global Cyberspace Integration Center, Langley Air Force Base, Va.
“The FCS is a joint network. We expect to be able to have all the services play a role in the network,” Army spokesman Lt. Col. William Wiggins said.
Ellie
By Kris Osborn - kosborn@militarytimes.com
Posted : July 09, 2007
The Marine Corps, Navy and even the Air Force may buy armored vehicles, sensors and networking gear being developed for the Army’s Future Combat Systems, which would give joint backing to the embattled $164 billion modernization program.
“The Marines are expected to buy the FCS armored vehicles, at least a certain number of the eight-man ground variants. It would be great if they bought all of them. We would be saving in production costs as well as maintenance and logistics,” said an official with the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command.
The Corps is also looking at FCS networking gear the Army is developing.
“Down the line, the Marine Corps will step up and buy a lot of this, and it might also lower the long-term production costs. If you have the Marines also buying it, the price should come down,” the TRADOC official said.
Corps officials acknowledged interest but stopped short of commitment.
All the U.S. services will be watching as the Army deploys various FCS technologies in the run-up to the fielding of the first full brigade combat team in 2015.
Army officials said other branches are interested in the FCS computer systems that draw data from the network and distribute it around the fire-control and navigational computers aboard an armored vehicle. These include the System of Systems Common Operating Environment, Integrated Computer Systems and the wireless communications device, the Joint Tactical Radio Systems.
“We’ve had interest in SOSCOE from the Air Force and Navy,” said Scott Davis, the Army’s FCS deputy program manager for operations. Air Force and Navy officials did not respond to queries by press time.
But the Corps has a deep interest in the program and have embedded people with various Army FCS offices and units to learn about the nascent systems.
“We work hand in hand on a variety of solutions. Sometimes it’s gear and sometimes it’s war-fighting concepts,” said Marine Maj. Jay Delarosa, a spokesman for Marine Corps headquarters.
For instance, during a February experiment at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., Marines tested the FCS’ Micro Air Vehicle and Unmanned Ground Sensors in simulated combat.
Other Marines will be embedded with the Army’s FCS evaluation task force when it stands up at Fort Bliss, Texas, later this year, Army officials said. The unit will begin testing vehicles equipped with the battlefield network gear in the lead-up to a major exercise in July 2008, Army spokesman Paul Mehney said.
For their part, Army FCS leaders have returned the interest by sending troops to work in relevant Marine offices.
“We have put some of our folks in Quantico to work that issue,” Davis said. “We have embedded with them and are working on how they want to do battle command and how that works into our network. They were intrigued, but they were not sure how the FCS battle command fits with their requirements. We have contributed some money to have Boeing and our guys to work with them.”
Even engineers from Boeing, which, with SAIC, is the program’s lead systems integrator, have been sent to learn about Marine battle command technologies and how they might hook up to the FCS network.
“The Marines have been interested in buying portions of FCS,” Boeing spokeswoman Mary McAdam said.
Some parts of the sprawling FCS program have long had joint involvement. The Fire Scout unmanned helicopter was originally a Navy program, and the sea service is still involved with the Non-Line-of-Sight gun. And the main tactical network node will be the Joint Tactical Radio Systems, now being purchased by the thousands in several variants. These software-defined radios will pass encrypted voice, video and data on the battlefield.
FCS will get a good multiservice wringing-out during Joint Expeditionary Force Experiment 2008. Slated for February and March at bases around the U.S., the exercise will use command-and-control technology from all of the services in war-fighting simulations.
FCS officials say they see the exercise as something of a coming-out for their systems. They want to prove FCS gear can keep tabs on friendly and enemy forces and move targeting data from sensors to shooters wearing many different uniforms, according to a written statement from Air Force Col. Stephen Moulton, modernization and innovation director at the Air Force’s Global Cyberspace Integration Center, Langley Air Force Base, Va.
“The FCS is a joint network. We expect to be able to have all the services play a role in the network,” Army spokesman Lt. Col. William Wiggins said.
Ellie