TerraN_EmpirE
Tyrant King
That was the point. It was the late 1990s early new millennium. No one imagined a great power competition. FCS was the U.S. Army reorganizing and modernizing to a rapid reaction force for peacekeeping and to counter situations like Yugoslavia.
VDV doctrine is not what FCS was intended to do. Also comparing VDV vehicles to FCS Manned vehicles is farcical. They don’t perform the same mission and much of the failure of the Russians has been the failure to even live by their own doctrine and training. Shifting VDV onto missions that it wasn’t designed for.
Under the plans for the FCS modernization the US Army airborne and Paratroopers would have remained as they are today. Light infantry either rotary wing mobile or dropped by parachute. The elements that they would have gotten from FCS would have been land warrior, Command and control, light tanks and UAS. Alongside this would have been the RAH66 Comanche which was only cancelled later.
FCS units would have replaced the Stryker BCTs. The Stryker was the “Interim Armored Vehicle” family as the aim was to spiral new technologies into the mechanized infantry units. The Strykers replaced very thin skinned M113, Humvees and light trucks. Though Stryker has had its issues and has been complained of. Its survival is far better than a Hummer.
FCS manned vehicles would have taken this to the next level by offering IFV and MBT level firepower in combination with Modernization of artillery and mortar. As well as supporting UGVs. FCS vehicles like the XM1206 ICV would have added 30mm cannons, organic UAS scouting, Hard kill APS systems and many capabilities that are still Next generation today at a 20 ton weight. Things that the VDV can only dream of. To deploy them them the Army hoped to keep them and the Stryker at about 20 tons and use C130J30s however they also in visioned a replacement for the C130 in the form of the Quad tilt rotor.
The Armored Corps of the U.S. Army would have adopted a number of FCS vehicles but the heart would have remained heavier vehicles like the Abrams. However they envisioned forking FCS systems like the XM360 120mm gun from the XM1202 into the Abrams in a modernization similar to the Abrams X.
Remember the era. Russia wasn’t a challenge. It was barely a player. At best the era’s war planers were hoping Russia could be an ally at worst they viewed Russian as a potential failed state. A bigger Yugoslav war in the brewing. Something still possible.
China wasn’t pacing it was on the map but other than numbers of soldier at that point in the late 90s early 00s it was nothing like it is today.
Javelin is still fairly new and modernization is continuing particularly as the older units are being shipped to Ukraine.
TOW missiles used today are not the ones that came off the line in the 1960s today the launcher is just reused well new missiles plug in kinda like the VLS system, MLRS launcher or PAC launcher. Currently programming is looking at its next replacement the Close Combat Missile System-Heavy. Both XM30 programs have considered replacement options for the TOW launcher
The XM30 is again looking far bigger. However for the near term as we have seen T90s getting a taste of the M242 and not liking it. The system is still valid. The 25mm is adequate for its main goal of supporting infantry.
The improvements they did are nothing compared to what is next. With the US Army interests In hybridization.
Did we? Because a number of the vehicles lost in fact the majority don’t have Trophy or Iron fist. Of those that do the attacks seem to have been in areas not covered or the vehicles were abandoned. This by the way is a higher survival rate than the Russian or Ukrainian armored vehicles that both lack a hard kill APS.
And if you abandon the APS what then? Because you are still susceptible to attack by ATGM.
