Future Combat Systems Future Combat Systems ( FCS ) was the United States Army ' s principal modernization program from 2003 to early 2009 . Formally launched in 2003 , FCS was envisioned to create new brigades equipped with new manned and unmanned vehicles linked by an unprecedented fast and flexible battlefield network . In April and May 2009 , Pentagon and army officials announced that the FCS vehicle - development effort would be cancelled . The rest of the FCS effort would be swept into a new , pan - army program called the Army Brigade Combat Team Modernization Program . Development history . As planned , FCS included the network ; unattended ground sensors ( UGS ) ; unmanned aerial vehicles ( UAVs ) ; unmanned ground vehicles ; and the eight manned ground vehicles . The Boeing Company and Science Applications International Corporation ( SAIC ) worked together as the lead systems integrator , coordinating more than 550 contractors and subcontractors in 41 states . A spiral model was planned for FCS development and upgrades . As of 2004 , FCS was in the System Development and Demonstration ( SDD ) phase , which included four two - year spirals . Spiral 1 was to begin fielding in Fiscal Year 2008 and consist of prototypes for use and evaluation . Following successful evaluation , production and fielding of Spiral 2 would have commenced in 2010 . The evaluation was conducted by the Army Evaluation Task Force ( AETF ) , previously known as Evaluation Brigade Combat Team ( EBCT ) , stationed in Fort Bliss . As of December 2007 , AETF consisted of 1 , 000 soldiers from the 1st Armored Division . In August 2005 , the program met 100 % of the criteria in its most important milestone to date , Systems of Systems Functional Review . On October 5 , 2005 , Pentagon team recommended " further delaying the Army ' s Future Combat Systems program " in light of the costs of the Iraq War , Hurricane Katrina , and expected declines in future budgets . The Pentagon announced plans in January 2006 to cut $ 236 million over five years from the $ 25 billion FCS 2007 - 2011 budget . The entire program was expected to cost $ 340 billion . As of late December 2006 , funding was scaled back for critical elements of the overall FCS battlespace , and the most advanced elements were deferred . The program had completed about one - third of its development as of 2008 , which had been planned to run through 2030 . Technical field tests began in 2008 . The first combat brigade equipped with FCS had been expected to roll out around 2015 , followed by full production to equip up to 15 brigades by 2030 . However , the program had not met the initial 2004 plan of fielding the first FCS - equipped unit in 2008 . On April 6 , 2009 , President Barack Obama ' s Secretary of Defense , Robert Gates announced plans to cut FCS spending as part of a shift toward spending more on counter - terrorism and less to prepare for conventional warfare against large states like China and Russia . This included , but was not limited to , cancelling the series of Manned Ground Vehicles . In May 2009 , the proposed DoD budget for fiscal year 2010 has minimal funding for Manned Ground Vehicles research . The Army plans to restart from the beginning on manned ground vehicles . The service is to restructure FCS so more Army units will be supported . The DoD released a memorandum on 23 June 2009 that cancelled the Future Combat Systems program and replaced it with separate programs under the Army Brigade Combat Team Modernization umbrella to meet the Army ' s plans . Subsystems . Active Subsystems . The following subsystems were swept into the Brigade Combat Team Modernization Program : Operating system . FCS was networked via an advanced architecture , called System of Systems Common Operating Environment ( SOSCOE ) that would enable enhanced joint connectivity and situational awareness ( see Network - centric warfare ) . SOSCOE targets x86 - Linux , VxWorks , and LynxOS . The FCS ( BCT ) network consists of five layers that when combined would provide seamless delivery of data : The Standards , Transport , Services , Applications , and Sensors and Platforms Layers . The FCS ( BCT ) network possesses the adaptability and management functionality required to maintain pertinent services , while the FCS ( BCT ) fights on a rapidly shifting battlespace giving them the advantage to take initiative . FCS would network existing systems , systems already under development , and systems to be developed .