Transformation: Transition From a Heavy to a Lighter Family of Armored Fighting Vehicles

Since the end of World War II, the single event with greatest impact on the development of armor was the war that did not happen-the expected conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union across the central front in Europe. This Cold War legacy meant the design of armor vehicles was driven by a competition that led to production of faster, more heavily armored, and more powerfully and accurately armed tanks. Since the end of the Cold War, the Army has responded to a number of crisis situations throughout the world. These responses are revealing that the Armys organizations and equipment platforms were not optimized for current missions. In October 1999, GEN Eric Shinseki, Army Chief of Staff, announced an Army transformation from a legacy force to an interim force that serves as the Armys bridge to the future and to an objective force that uses the best of science and technology to develop the Future Combat System. Will transformation of the Armys armored forces into the objective force be evolutionary or revolutionary Will the Interim Armored Vehicle IAV be available in sufficient quantities and types to impact the development doctrine, training and initial deployment of the Interim Brigade Combat Team IBCT in the schedule set by GEN Shinseki Will technology be mature enough to support Engineering, Manufacturing and Development decisions for the FCS by FY 2006