Evolution by increments [Content preview Subscribe to IHS Jane s Defence Weekly for full article] The US Army is, for the most part, moving cautiously ahead with a variety of modernisation plans to upgrade and evolve its equipment and structures. Daniel Wasserbly reports The promise of high-tech gear such as the networked Future Combat Systems revolutionising the battlefield for the US Army appears, for now, to have gone unfulfilled. As part of modernisation efforts the service is regrouping and focusing on enhancing its capabilities for everything from lowintensity stability operations to high-intensity combat with a peer adversary. Several capability areas in particular appear to be getting the most attention and resources, namely long-range precision fires and manoeuvre platforms for infantry brigades. The US Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) held a so-called 'Mad Scientist' event in August to study the "strategic security environment in 2025 and beyond", exploring the character of warfare and how it might change through to 2050. The command, among other things, is responsible for setting army requirements for training and equipping. Such events are part of TRADOC intelligence directorate efforts to study future operational environments, and the Mad Scientist meeting is to facilitate dialogue between the military, academia, and industry. Tom Greco, TRADOC's deputy chief of staff (G-2), told reporters on 23 August that the Mad Scientist event underscored the importance of better synchronising air, land, and sea power for future operations. For example, the army may need to clear sea space and air space for navy and air force assets to move through, and for the army this would be a change from the current progression of using airpower or sea power to set conditions for land operations. Indeed, Admiral Harry Harris, head of US Pacific Command (PACOM), believes the army should explore ways to use the M109A7 Paladin self-propelled howitzer (SPH) and M142 High-Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) wheeled launcher "to keep the enemies' navies at risk". Page 1 of 7
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ATACMS is mainly a corps-level asset for use against imprecisely located or area targets - such as tactical missile launchers, air defence systems, command-and-control sites, and logistics lines - from up to 300 km away. The army hopes to replace it with a Long Range Precision Fires missile. (Lockheed Martin) 1484782 Personnel During operations in Iraq and Afghanistan the army's active-duty force reached a high of about 570,000 - funded through supplemental budgets - but the service has been drawing that down after redeploying tens of thousands of soldiers from both theatres (although thousands remain in each). In its fiscal year 2016 (FY 2016) budget the army codified plans to drop its active component from the 490,000 soldiers proposed in the budget for FY 2015, down to 450,000 by the end of FY 2018. By the end of FY 2017 the Army National Guard is to reduce its planned force structure to 335,000 soldiers and the Army Reserve down to 195,000. For FY 2017 the army requested that Congress authorise an active-duty end strength of 460,000 soldiers. The US Army has around 187,700 soldiers deployed across the world (about 25,000 are National Guard and Reserve personnel), but service leaders are finding that short-term medical problems are keeping too many soldiers from deployment and this has become an issue now that the overall force is smaller. General Daniel Allyn, army vice-chief of staff, told reporters in June that the service has about 100,000 soldiers considered to be 'non-deployable', of whom about 80% are not deployable due to medical problems. With more end strength the army had been able to keep its formations at 110-115% manning levels, meaning it could absorb the 10% of non-deployable soldiers and still field a fully manned unit. Now, however, most units are manned at about 95%, so having 10% of those non-deployable becomes a significant problem, Gen Allyn said. "This math doesn't work well, so we've got to first and foremost address the 'unreadiness' issues," he said. The army hopes to initially address soldiers that are temporarily medically unfit, which Gen Allyn said represent the majority of cases. The army hopes it can reduce this through a variety of measures to mitigate injuries sustained during training. Non-deployable soldiers are about 10% of the force, but Gen Allyn said it varies and some brigades are 7% non-deployable, so service officials are looking to find and implement 'best practices' from those units. Page 3 of 7
Aside from 'reassurance' for US allies in Europe, officials say exercises there have helped improve US leader development, practise maintenance, and familiarise troops with the complexities of manoeuvring around Europe. (US Army) 1484791 Vehicles After several initial phases involving a variety of contractors, Oshkosh Defense was chosen to build the Pentagon's new Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV), meant to largely replace the onceubiquitous Humvee. The Wisconsin-based company won with its Light Combat Tactical All-Terrain Vehicle submission. Oshkosh was awarded an initial USD6.7 billion firm-fixed-price production contract (if all options are exercised) in August 2015. Low-rate initial production (LRIP) was scheduled to begin in the first quarter of FY 2016, but this was delayed by a protest from Lockheed Martin, which along with AM General lost the JLTV competition. The protest escalated to US federal court, but Lockheed Martin dropped its lawsuit in February and the programme is now proceeding. The army, which is the JLTV programme lead, and the US Marine Corps (USMC) are to buy 16,901 vehicles through the initial contract before deciding upon a full-rate production deal around 2019. All of the USMC's planned 5,500 JLTVs are included in that contract and the corps hopes to complete its procurement by 2022; the army expects to buy a total fleet of 49,099 vehicles by 2040. Page 4 of 7
Oshkosh Defense's Joint Light Tactical Vehicle is air-transportable by Lockheed C-130 Hercules transport aircraft. (Oshkosh) 1635398 After the lawsuit and protest were dropped, a USD243 million order was placed in March for JLTVs for the army and the USMC, Oshkosh said at the time. Orders for JLTVs can be expected to roll in at a steady pace under the initial contract. The JLTV programme will receive USD735.4 million in the Pentagon's FY 2017 budget request: USD587.5 million to procure 1,828 JLTVs for the army, USD113.2 million to procure 192 for the USMC, and about USD34.7 million for research and development for the overall programme. Separately, for FY 2017 the army requested USD9.678 million to begin a new-start programme called Mobile Protected Firepower (MPF): a vehicle meant to quickly deploy with relatively low logistics demand, but enough protection and firepower to help ensure an infantry brigade combat team's (IBCT's) freedom of action. According to budget documents, the MPF is to "provide the protected, long-range, precision directfire capability to ensure freedom of movement and action during offensive operations or defeat attacking enemy during defensive operations". This, the army said, is necessary because IBCTs lack the capability to "defeat enemy prepared positions, destroy enemy armoured vehicles, close with the enemy through fire and manoeuvre, and ensure freedom of manoeuvre and action in close contact with the enemy". The army is still formulating MPF requirements, but the concept appears similar to the sort of light tank that BAE Systems was developing for the service's Armored Gun System (AGS) programme. The M8 AGS - type classified by the army in 1995 but cancelled the next year - was to replace the M551 Sheridan light tanks in the 82nd Airborne Division. For MPF in FY 2017 the service would like to begin trade studies; technical, operational, and affordability analysis; possibly conduct an analysis-of-alternatives study; seek new development concepts or modification to existing platforms; and potentially prototyping to assess designs. A 'Milestone A' or 'Milestone B' decision (to begin technology development or engineering and manufacturing development, respectively) could be made in the first quarter of FY 2019, the army has noted. Page 5 of 7
Also for FY 2017 the army has asked for USD4.907 million to start a programme to field a Ground Mobility Vehicle (GMV), designed so that early entry forces can rapidly move to assault opposing positions. The M109A7 PIM improves upon the original SPH but retains the 155 mm/39 calibre ordnance, fitted in an upgraded turret on a new hull. (BAE Systems) 1448765 Aviation Rotorcraft procurement in the Pentagon's FY 2017 budget request emerged as a major 'bill payer' for the army, as service planners are trying to redirect funding towards keeping soldiers trained and ready to fight. Army aviation is "a big portfolio and we had to make up some ground in terms of total reductions", Major General Thomas Horlander, the service's budget director, noted in February. Overall, army aviation procurement would drop by USD2.3 billion, from USD5.9 billion to USD3.6 billion in the FY 2017 request. Boeing CH-47F Chinook heavy-lift helicopters, Sikorsky UH-60M Black Hawk utility helicopters, and Boeing AH-64E Apache Guardian attack helicopters would all face procurement reductions compared with the current year. Page 6 of 7
As part of the ARI, 24 AH-64D Apaches were re-assigned from National Guard units to 2-6 Cavalry Squadron, 25th Combat Aviation Brigade, and arrived at Hawaii's Wheeler Army Airfield in April. (US Army) 1522113 Those reductions come as the army is trying to shuffle its aviation assets through an Aviation Restructure Initiative (ARI), unveiled in the service's FY 2015 budget proposal. The ARI has not been fully accepted by Congress and has been opposed by the National Guard, which hopes to retain air attack platforms that the initiative originally sought to move to the active-duty force. For the full version and more content: IHS Jane's Defence Industry and Markets Intelligence Centre This analysis is taken from IHS Jane s Defence Industry & Markets Intelligence Centre, which provides world-leading analysis of commercial, industrial and technological defence developments, budget and programme forecasts, and insight into new and emerging defence markets around the world. IHS defence industry and markets news and analysis is also available within IHS Jane s Defence Weekly. To learn more and to subscribe to IHS Jane s Defence Weekly online, offline or print visit http://magazines./. For advertising solutions contact the IHS Jane s Advertising team Page 7 of 7