The Army announced today a June 15 workshop that will convene a wide range of experts to inform a “Ground Combat Vehicle Blue Ribbon Panel,” made up of senior DoD and Army leaders. They will use ideas from the workshop to produce operational concepts and requirements for new vehicles to replace the cancelled FCS vehicles.
“The Army is still in need of a vehicle that can protect soldiers, and cope with 21st century operational requirements,” said Gen. Peter Chiarelli, Army vice chief of staff, in a press release. “The blue ribbon panel will take a fresh look at these requirements including capabilities, technologies and lessons learned from the FCS program.”
A group of “distinguished participants” will be drawn from academia, think tanks, retired and active duty military -- as well as program managers -- to provide input on the future operating environment, platforms, anti-armor threats, research and development, future requirements and network considerations, the Army said. The Army said none of the workshop participants should have direct ties to major Pentagon contractors. The all-day workshop will be held at the National Defense University in Washington; a six-member executive committee will then meet July 15.
The workshop will consider six focus areas for vehicle development, including: the operational environment 2015-2025; platform characteristics 2015-2025; platform threats; commercial off the shelf versus research and development with an intended fielding date of 2017; realistic requirements for tomorrow; and network considerations.
“We will work to include both lessons learned from the current fight and what we’ve learned from technology and build a better vehicle,” said Army Chief Gen. George Casey. “Our goal is to move forward.”
