ARTICLE: Army Defends Progress On Modernization Program
(Reuters.com)…Andrea Shalal-Esa, Reuters
A senior U.S. Army official on Tuesday defended progress on a mammoth modernization program known as the Future Combat Systems (FCS), saying it was on cost and on schedule despite some technological challenges.
Lt. Col. Scott Turner, the Army’s deputy director for FCS integration, said he was confident that the overall program and its 44 critical technologies were “on track” to allow the fielding of the four systems in 2011 and the overall roll-out of the first FCS brigade combat team in 2015.
He said Gates was questioning the system because of its overall cost, but he remained convinced that the additional capabilities it would give the Army were well worth the investment.
Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs) used in helping to assess the program risks associated with developing the new technologies required by FCS. Good news for the Taxpayers in that it provides a more objective indicator of progress. Also useful in determining priorities — a good thing for the warfighters.
Success Through Quality's Weblog 