Future Combat Systems ---- USA

[whdonnelly]

The MGS has finally arrived. According to press releases it goes from the good to the laughable.
The good:
The MGS will carry four types of ammunition: a depleted-uranium armor-piercing round, a high-explosive anti-tank round, a high-explosive plastic round for blowing through walls and barricades, and a canister round filled with 2,300 tungsten ball bearings for firing on enemy fighters.

The funny(this is an 18 round 105mm we're talking about):
The MGS packs "exactly the same, if not a little more enhanced" firepower as the much heavier 70-ton Abrams tank, but is not as sturdy defensively, Cooper said.

The first quote is good, the second one is hard to explain.
Take care
Will

[pdoktar]

Here we go. This unbelievable spread of mis-information is the disease of our age. Who the hell is this "Cooper"? Packs maybe even more punch than a Abrams.. WHAT? I hate the press. They act like they know everything about everything, just because they´re the ones who spread info or act like a medium of information to the poor Jacks and Jills of modern western society.

In what way 18x105 is more than 44x120.. I don´t care if those guys are going to fight on toyotas or Devastators form the game Dune2. I care when this kind of ridiculous info meets the public, who can´t weigh the facts as they have little experience of such complex weapon systems, and are actually told lies (again).

[whdonnelly]

Here's another good one:
M1A2 SEP Hits a Moving T72 from 8km
In the first beyond line of sight mission test held at the U.S. Army's Yuma, Ariz., Proving Grounds on Sept. 25, 2006, the laser guided MRM-CE projectile fired from an Abrams M1A2 SEP (system enhancement program) tank scored an extended-range, guided direct hit at a moving T-72 tank at a range of 5.4 miles (8.7 km). The test demonstrated the laser-guided seeker's ability to successfully target, acquire and track a moving tank and guide the munition to intercept at the required range.

[pdoktar]

So basicly an gun-fired ATGM did hit a target at 8 kliks. What a surprise..!! Not even a KEM munition, if MRM-CE means Medium Range Missile-Chemical Energy.
Oh.. the tables have really turned now, revolutionazing ground warfare.

[narwan]

8 kilometres is medium range????

[pdoktar]

Well.. I´m thiking of medium range. Since everything is improving all the time..

I have no idea what this weapon / missile is. So I just tried my best making it sound just more than a M1A2SEP MRM-CE munition.

[whdonnelly]

It's hard to get a good description of this round. It's been described as a JDAM for tanks by one guy, and as something completely new by another. It's called a chemical energy kinetic round, which seems to be a contradiction. It has small rocket motors, a GPS, and some other targeting sensors. BUT you are right, it is described as medium range.

[RecruitMonty]

So they are planning on scrapping the Abrams for that thing!? HAH! Nice! Man I miss the Russians.

[Marek_Tucan]

Is it too late to change the program? All the vehicles look like ugly cheap tank toys, not like combat vehicles...

[thatguy96]

Marek_Tucan said:
Is it too late to change the program? All the vehicles look like ugly cheap tank toys, not like combat vehicles...

Those are just the concept designs. I don't think a physical mockup has been built, and there aren't any functional prototypes. I honestly don't think you'll see any members of the FCS family in service prior to 2020. All you have to do is look at the intertwining of tech and requirements.

The Army keeps twisting things around trying to get them on schedule, and I doubt they'll succeed. The had planned for Objective Force Warrior soldier systems to be deployed in the 2010-2012 timeline, but they had also expected Land Warrior to be fielded in 2004. The second iteration of Land Warrior was scrapped last year, supposedly having its developed elements separated (Mounted Warrior and Airborne Warrior), and its developmental elements placed under a new program (the Ground Soldier System). So now you have these Land Warrior spinoffs, Objective Force Warrior, Future Force Warrior, and the FCS, all of which are planned to function together, plus a number of major weapons and equipment programs all designed to bring it together (JTRS and the "Objective" weapons programs, all of which seem to be in various stages of delayed).

Whatever the FCS looks like now, it won't look like that when eventually fielded. Just look at what the FCS program looked like 1999 and what it looks like the better part of a decade after. If I was understanding the news releases correctly the test unit stood up to experiment with FCS tech and tactics has actually been using Stykers, as they present the best available use of existing tech designed to be integrated (and are compatible with things like Mounted Warrior). The first FCS unit of action was not planned until 2014, and I doubt you'll see it in a final form by then. I expect you'll see some composite of existing and leveraged FCS tech into interim versions of the vehicles.