Procurement: June 18, 2005

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The U.S. Army has given up on trying to design all of its next generation (FCS, Future Combat System) armored vehicles to be transportable in a C-130 aircraft. This requirement meant certain size restrictions, and no vehicle weighing more than 19.5 tons. The army has now raised the weight limit to 24 tons. This means these heavier FCS vehicles could only be brought in by C-17 or C-5 transports. At the moment, the army does not know what kind of defensive technology it will use for its next generation FCS tank. The army does not want another 60-70 ton tank (like the current M-1). But at the moment, lighter protection, that would be as effective as the M-1s composite armor, exists only in theory. However the army is confident that the new technologies will become practical in the next decade, and a 24 ton, or maybe 30 ton, tank will be superior to the current M-1. 

 

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