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Army Seeks Additional Funding for Digitization Program

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

The US Army is facing a financial challenge as it pushes to fulfill its goal of "digitizing" its first division by late 2000. To keep the project on track, the Army needs to find $22 million in its fiscal 2000 research budget for the Force XXI Battle Command Brigade and Below (FBCB2) program. FBCB2 is the lynchpin of digitization on the tactical level, linking the crews of Abrams tanks, Bradley fighting vehicles and Humvees into a mechanized unit with a common picture of the battlefield.

Key Takeaways:

  • The Army needs to find $22 million in its fiscal 2000 research budget for the FBCB2 program to keep it on track with the goal of digitizing its first division by late 2000.
  • FBCB2 is a critical component of the Army's digitization plan, providing a common picture of the battlefield for mechanized units.
  • The program has faced delays, including a reliability-development test and a limited user test completed in August 1999, but the Army and TRW say the program remains on schedule.
  • The Army plans to make a low rate initial production (LRIP) decision by summer 2000, which would allow the procurement of 6,000 FBCB2 systems at an average cost of $27,000 per copy.
  • The second digital division is expected to be fielded in 2003 and an entire corps in 2004, with the Army ultimately aiming to buy 60,000 FBCB2 units.
  • Brig. Gen. John Schmitt, director of the Army Digitization Office, has stated that the Army will identify an offset program or programs to divert money to ensure the continuation of the FBCB2 program.
  • Neil Siegel, vice president and general manager for TRW Tactical Systems, has emphasized that FBCB2 is "good enough now" for the soldiers of the 4th Infantry Division, and that the program's delays were due to synchronization problems with other elements of Army digitization.

Statistics:

  • The FBCB2 program requires an additional $22 million in fiscal 2000 research budget.
  • The program is expected to procure 6,000 FBCB2 systems at an average cost of $27,000 per copy.
  • The Army plans to field two digital divisions and a corps headquarters with the $1.8 billion program.
  • FBCB2 is designed to be used by approximately 3,000 units within a mechanized or armored digital division.
  • The program aims to equip the entire first digitized division by late 2000.
  • The Army expects to buy 60,000 FBCB2 units in total.

Sources:

  • Brig. Gen. John Schmitt, director of the Army Digitization Office
  • Neil Siegel, vice president and general manager for TRW Tactical Systems
  • The Army's Program Objective Memorandum (POM) for the fiscal 2000-2005 Future Years Defense Plan
  • The report of Philip Coyle, the Pentagon's top tester, released in February 1999
  • "Force XXI Battle Command Brigade and Below (FBCB2)" article published by TRW
  • Various trade press stories, including those from the Army Times and Defense News
  • The Army's FBCB2 program documentation

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