Combat Vehicles

The Army, maligned for a series of expensive acquisition failures over the past two decades, now faces the future armed with aging vehicles and little in the development pipeline.

The Army's deputy chief of staff (G-8) plans to use the Strategic Portfolio Analysis Review process to better inform the Next Generation Combat Vehicle prototype effort.

The House Appropriations Committee aims to fund upgrades for 29 Abrams tanks above the Army's request in fiscal year 2018 for a total quantity of 85, a need outlined in the service's unfunded requirements list. 

Government auditors analyzed the prototyping processes of a selection of Army programs, finding that some resulted in cost savings and requirement changes.

The Army is pursuing an interim effort to outfit its combat vehicles with active protection systems from three companies, but the re-entry of a prime contractor that had exited the market has the potential to shake up the program.

While the Army upgrades a group of Strykers for use in Europe, the service plans to make key decisions by the end of the summer on how to upgun the entire Stryker fleet, according to the project manager.

The Marine Corps recently tested a "critical link" between Amphibious Combat Vehicle Increment 1.1 and 1.2, which was the ability to launch and recover the system from an amphibious assault ship.

For all the focus on the armored brigade combat team presence in Europe, the emphasis needs to be on the array of capabilities required to provide deterrence, according to the commander of U.S. Army Europe.

The Army is working to bring existing equipment up to standard to convert the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division to the service's 15th armored brigade combat team, according to the chief of materiel management and installation logistics division at Army Materiel Command.