Reports that the Pentagon may be considering drastic cutbacks to elements of the Army's $160 billion Future Combat Systems (FCS) program are alarming some key members of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC).

SASC Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.) says he wants to hear "what the arguments are [for cutting back] before I reach any conclusion."

Rumored cuts to six of the eight FCS manned ground vehicles (MGVs) would be another blow to Michigan's industrial base, already reeling from the economic slide of the U.S. auto industry. A total of 51 Michigan companies work on FCS, including General Dynamics' Land Systems unit outside Detroit. "I hope I'm capable of reaching an objective conclusion, even about programs in my state," Levin told defense writers March 31 when asked about possible Obama administration cuts to the over-budget and behind-schedule FCS program.

NLOS-C

Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), who unlike Levin doesn't have to worry about party loyalty or political support for the White House, issued a passionate defense of FCS in general, and its Non-Line of Sight Cannon (NLOS-C), which is to be assembled at a BAE Systems facility in Elgin, Okla.

"Let me be absolutely clear," Inhofe said in a written statement issued March 31, "I will do everything I can in my role as a senior member of the SASC to fight for the Army's FCS program and the NLOS-Cannon."

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently issued a scathing report on the FCS program that suggested Congress hold back full funding until the Army proves the maturity and feasibility of some FCS technologies.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates is reportedly mulling options that range from canceling the nine-year-old program to cutting back from eight types of ground vehicles to as few as two.

Photo: FCS