page_title: Armored Systems Modernization
section_title: Heavy Chassis
hierarchical_section_title: Armored Systems Modernization / Heavy Chassis
caption_attribution_description: English: The 4 vehicles in the Heavy Chassis component of the ASM
context_page_description: The ASM Program was a U.S. Army combat vehicle procurement program from the mid-1980s to the 1990s.
context_section_description: The Army developed the heavy chassis using a two-pronged development strategy: an in-house Army component development and test program and a competitive contractor development phase.
  The four systems to be built on a common heavy chassis were the Block III tank, a main battle tank; the Combat Mobility Vehicle, an engineering vehicle for mine clearance and other engineering tasks; the Advanced Field Artillery System, a self-propelled howitzer; and the Future Infantry Fighting Vehicle, an infantry fighting vehicle. The chassis will have certain common elements such as engines, transmissions, suspensions, modular armor, and tracks. The ASM common heavy chassis could have actually been two chassis, one with the engine in the rear and one with the engine in the front because tanks traditionally have had the engine in the rear, while self-propelled artillery and infantry fighting vehicles have had the engine in the front. However, the chassis were required to be sufficiently similar to permit production on a single assembly line.
  The Army's initial development priority was the Block III M1 Abrams, with the other heavy chassis systems to follow.
  The Army planned for each of the three remaining heavy chassis systems to go through a technology demonstrator phase prior to the start of prototype development. The award of the demonstrator contracts was scheduled for the Combat Mobility Vehicle and for the Advanced Field Artillery System in fiscal year 1991 and for the Future Infantry Fighting Vehicle in fiscal year 1993. The demonstrator for the Combat
  Mobility Vehicle would integrate obstacle-breaching components on a surrogate tank chassis. The demonstrator for the Advanced Field Artillery
  System would integrate a new artillery cannon and fire control system on a surrogate chassis. The demonstrator for the Future Infantry Fighting Vehicle would integrate a new cannon and fire control system on a modified existing chassis.
  The Army planned to award prototype development contracts for the other three vehicles in 1994. The prototypes would integrate each system's unique weapons on the common heavy chassis. The full-scale development phase would begin in 1998 for the Advanced Field Artillery System and the Combat Mobility Vehicle and in 1997 for the Future Infantry Fighting Vehicle. Vehicle production was scheduled to begin in 2001 for the Advanced Field Artillery System and Future Infantry Fighting Vehicle and in 2002 for the Combat Mobility Vehicle. The scheduled first-unit-equipped dates were 2003 for the Advanced Field Artillery System and 2004 for the remaining two vehicles.
caption: Army conception of Heavy Chassis variants
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