Armor: July 9, 2002

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The Army has now decided that the Future Combat System will need 20 platforms instead of six. These include seven manned ground vehicles, seven unmanned ground vehicles, three unmanned aerial vehicles, and three soldier robots. While few details have been released, it is known that soldiers in the new APC will sit facing forward as in a mini-van so they will not take such a brutal pounding over rough terrain. Most will use hybrid gasoline-electric motors that will be replaced with fuel cells halfway through their service lives.--Stephen V Cole