No. 236-00 (703)695-0192(media) IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 9, 2000 (703)697-5737(public/industry)
DARPA AND ARMY SELECT CONTRACTORS FOR FUTURE COMBAT SYSTEMS PROGRAMS
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and the U.S. Army today selected four contractor teams for the first phase of the Future Combat Systems (FCS) program. Each team has entered into a "Section 845/804 Other Transaction for Prototypes" agreement for the initial 24-month conceptual design phase.
The selected contractor team leads and agreement amounts are: The Boeing Co., Phantom Works, Seattle, Wash. - Agreement amount (cost-shared with company): $23,299,998. Government share: $10,000,000.
Science Applications International Corp., McLean, Va. - Agreement amount (cost-shared with company): $12,830,470. Government share: $10,000,000.
TEAM FoCuS Vision CONSORTIUM, c/o Raytheon Co., Plano, Texas - Agreement amount (cost-shared with consortium): $14,000,000. Government share: $10,000,000.
Team Gladiator (TRW Inc., Carson, Calif.; Lockheed Martin Inc., Lockheed Martin Vought Systems, Dallas, Texas; CSC/Nichols Research, Huntsville, Ala.; Carnegie Mellon Research Institute, Pittsburgh, Penn.; Battelle Memorial Institute, Columbus, Ohio; IITRI/AB Tech Group, Alexandria, Va.) - Agreement amount (cost-shared with consortium): $15,461,499. Government share: $10,000,000.
The FCS demonstration program is a collaborative DARPA/Army program to design and demonstrate future combat systems that can be the centerpiece of the Army's Objective Force vision. Key to this vision is that contractors use an innovative, "clean sheet of paper" approach in order to design a highly responsive, strategic and tactical system with the multiple capabilities now embodied in today's force.
During the first phase of the program, contractor teams will develop two design concepts; each concept must provide the deployability, agility, versatility, lethality, survivability and sustainability envisioned for the Objective Force. The first concept will be for a network-centric,
distributed force that will include a manned command and control element/personnel carrier, a robotic direct-fire system, a robotic non-line of sight system, an all-weather robotic sensor system, coupled with other layered sensors. The second concept will be the team's own design approach for a system of systems.
The envisioned Objective Force must provide the Army with a significant combat overmatch against all foreseeable enemies extending through the 2025 timeframe. It should provide for rapid unit deployment and successful offensive, defensive, and stability and support operations while using smaller combat formations capable of very high operational tempo while requiring a significantly lower logistical support structure. It should also provide unrestricted transportability and deployability that would enable a brigade-sized force to be deployed in 96 hours or less.
Following the design concept phase, DARPA and the Army will competitively select approximately two contractor teams to prepare a detailed FCS design of the best concept. Then the program will select a single contractor team to build and test an FCS demonstrator. The information gained through this demonstration and experimentation effort will allow the Army to make a decision regarding Engineering and Manufacturing Development in fiscal 2006, with the first system fielding in 2012.
More information about the Future Combat Systems program is available on the Web at http://www.darpa.mil/ , or contact Jan Walker at DARPA at (703) 696-2404.
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