Since the end of the Cold War, the pace and type of Army deployments has dramatically shifted toward more frequent, small-scale contingency operations. In the 40 years prior to 1990, the Army had 55 operational deployments, including the Korean Conflict and the Vietnam War. Since 1989, the Army has had 53 operational deployments with a majority being small-scale contingency operations such as Somalia, Bosnia, and Kosovo. Nevertheless, the National Military Strategy requires the services to be prepared for major regional conflicts. Therefore, the Army must maintain forces appropriate for these larger conflicts as well as for smaller contingencies. On October 12, 1999, the Secretary of the Army and the Chief of Staff of the Army announced plans to radically transform the Army into a lighter, but lethal and survivable, force that can respond to a broad range of operations—from peacekeeping, to regional conflicts, to major theater wars. Specifically, the goal of the Army’s transformation plan is to build the objective force. This force includes advanced command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities; future reconnaissance, attack, and lift aircraft; and revolutionary weapon systems—called Future Combat Systems—that are expected to be as lethal and survivable as the current heavy weapon systems and light enough to be transported in a C-130-type aircraft. Objective force units using these systems would be able to engage in the full spectrum of conflicts ranging from various small-scale contingencies to major theater wars. While transitioning to the objective force, the Army believes that it needs to improve the capabilities of its existing force so that it can better respond to small-scale contingencies. As a result, the Army’s transformation plans include improving portions of its current force by transforming from five to eight units into Interim Brigade Combat Teams and equipping them with new vehicles that are expected to make the teams more lethal, mobile, and survivable than current light forces while maintaining the current light force’s responsiveness and deployability capabilities. The Army calls this force the “interim force” because it is designed to fill a near-term capabilities gap between today’s heavy and light forces. The Army intends to phase out the interim force as it fields its objective force. Also, while it is developing the objective force and establishing the interim force, the Army plans to sustain, recapitalize (upgrade and rebuild), and modernize selected portions of its current heavy force to maintain the force’s overmatch capability. The Army calls its current force the “legacy force” in its transformation plan. It expects to phase out the legacy force as it fields the objective force. Figure 1 graphically depicts the Army’s approach to its transformation. Building the objective force will require the Army to first identify and develop the technologies required to produce systems that are as lethal and survivable as the current heavy weapon systems and light enough to be transported in a C-130-type aircraft and then to develop the actual systems. Objective force units using these future combat systems would be able to engage and be successful in the full spectrum of conflicts. The Army and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) have entered into a 6-year collaborative program to explore, design, and test the new and revolutionary technologies that are vital to meeting the requirements of the objective force. Such technologies include robotics, sensors, new fuel and power systems, advanced armor, and command and control networks. DARPA’s concept for the Future Combat Systems is a “system of systems” in which a manned command and control vehicle is expected to be networked with and control unmanned ground and airborne reconnaissance vehicles and unmanned weapon delivery vehicles. The unmanned vehicles could be equipped with such weapons as direct- and indirect-fire guns, non-line-of-sight rockets, and antitank missiles. In addition, the manned command and control vehicle would be networked with other reconnaissance systems not under its direct control including other airborne and spaceborne systems. The resulting configuration is expected to allow the commander of the command and control vehicle to operate from a position of concealment and, using the data received from the reconnaissance systems, to be aware of the tactical situation, identify and target opponent systems, select the engagement position and method that best assures success, and send unmanned weapon systems to carry out the engagement and destroy the opponent’s systems. This concept’s success depends upon mature technologies to allow the Army to design secure networks that cannot be jammed or taken over by the opponent; robotic vehicles that would make some decisions on their own; smaller weapons delivery platforms; and a command and control vehicle that escapes detection. The Future Combat Systems program is in its initial 2-year concept design phase. On May 9, 2000, DARPA and the Army selected four contractor teams to develop Future Combat Systems design concepts to provide the required objective force deployability, lethality, and survivability. Each team is to develop two design concepts—one based on DARPA’s concept for the Future Combat Systems and the other based on its own concept. DARPA and the Army plan to evaluate the concepts using computer modeling and simulations. In April 2003, DARPA and the Army plan to conduct a program review to determine whether the required technologies are mature enough to proceed to the next level of development. They plan to rely on technology readiness levels as an analytic tool to make this judgment. If they decide to continue, they plan to choose one or more of the concept designs for a 3-year development phase including construction of a technology carrier to demonstrate the Future Combat Systems’ principles. The Army plans for the program to be transferred to Army control and enter the system development and demonstration phase in fiscal year 2006. It would like to start fielding Future Combat Systems in fiscal year 2008 with the first unit reaching its full capabilities in fiscal year 2010. The entire transformation is not expected to be completed until about fiscal year 2032. By that time, the objective force will have replaced both the interim and legacy forces. The interim force will bridge the gap between the capabilities of today’s force and the objective force. The Army intends that this interim force will provide the foundation for the objective force. The Army’s new interim force will be made up of five to eight more easily deployable Brigade Combat Teams that are expected to be trained, organized, and equipped to conduct small-scale contingency operations. During a major war, the Army does not expect the Interim Brigade Combat Teams to directly replace heavy combat units for all missions, but rather to perform a broad range of missions suitable to their capabilities and characteristics, thereby supplementing the specialized capabilities of heavy units with their own specialized features and assets when appropriate. The Army plans to establish the new teams in two phases. Over the next 2 years, the Army plans to form two Initial Brigade Combat Teams using light armored surrogate vehicles on loan from Canada and other countries and other Army vehicles. These brigades are expected to use these vehicles to develop operational and organizational concepts, training needs, and doctrine. In January 2000, the Army began forming the first Initial Brigade Combat Team at Fort Lewis, Washington. In the second phase, the Army plans to procure “off-the-shelf” vehicles, called the Family of Interim Armored Vehicles, which are to be capable of being transported in C-130-type of aircraft. The Family of Interim Armored Vehicles are required to be no more than 19 tons—about 50 tons lighter than the current Abrams tank—and are to include an infantry carrier with eight variants and a mobile gun system vehicle. The Army plans also called for a self-propelled howitzer to be part of the family of interim vehicles; however, due to other funding priorities, the Army is not planning to procure the self-propelled howitzer and plans to use a towed howitzer in its place. Once acquired, the Army plans to modify the vehicles with its most advanced digital communications and information systems. The Army plans to replace the borrowed vehicles in the Initial Brigade Combat Teams with interim armored vehicles once they are available and transform them into Interim Brigade Combat Teams. On April 6, 2000, the Army issued a request for proposal for the interim armored vehicles. On November 16, 2000, the Army awarded a 6-year contract for the development and production of a wheeled Family of Interim Armored Vehicles. Under the contract all but three of the interim vehicles will go directly into production. The three vehicles requiring development are the fire support, armored gun system, and nuclear, chemical, biological, and chemical reconnaissance vehicles. The contract is worth nearly $4 billion if all the options are exercised. The Army originally had planned to equip the first Interim Brigade Combat Team with interim vehicles by March 2001 and reach initial operational capability with that team by December 2001. After that and continuing through fiscal year 2010, the Army plans to equip from five to eight interim Brigade Combat Teams with these vehicles. According to Army Staff officials, this could be from 2,131 to 2,791 interim armored vehicles depending on the number of brigades the Army equips. To ensure near-term warfighting readiness and improve existing warfighting capabilities, the Army has concluded that it must sustain and selectively modernize and recapitalize the legacy force. The Army plans to enhance key armored and aviation systems in both Active and Reserve components. Legacy force systems include those weapon systems that the Army has fielded such as the Abrams tank or Bradley Fighting Vehicle and that were under development before the transformation was announced such as the Crusader artillery system. The Army’s transformation plans include legacy force investments to ensure that heavy combat systems can maintain their superiority over potential enemy systems during the transformation period. As the objective force units are equipped, the Army plans to phase out the legacy force units and then the interim force units. As noted earlier, the House Appropriations Committee reported that the transformation would require at least $70 billion over the next 12 to 15 years.