john MATSUMURA
randall STEEB
tom HERBERT
john GORDON
carl RHODES
russell GLENN
michael BARBERO
fred GELLERT
phyllis KANTAR
gail HALVERSON
robert COCHRAN
paul STEINBERG
Prepared for the United States Army
A R R OYO C E N T E R
R
Approved for public release; distribution unlimited
The research described in this report was sponsored by the United
States Army under Contract DASW01-96-C-0004.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Exploring advanced technologies for the future combat systems program /
John Matsumura ... [et al.].
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
“MR-1332.”
ISBN 0-8330-3026-4
1. United States. Army. 2. Armored vehicles, Military—United States. 3.
Tank warfare—Effect of technological innovations on. 4. Combat—Effect of
technological innovations on 5. Military planning—United States. I.
Matsumura, John.
UE160 .E97 2002
358'.1883—dc21
2001041628
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PREFACE
This report summarizes the research findings of a short-time-frame
study conducted by RAND Arroyo Center to support the Army Science Board (ASB) Summer Study 2000, “Technical and Tactical
Opportunities for Revolutionary Advances in Rapidly Deployable
Joint Ground Forces in the 2015–2020 Era.” The purpose of the
RAND research was to explore a range of advanced technologies for
potential contribution to the Future Combat Systems program; it is
intended to be a think piece and is not a guide to the contractors
charged with designing the Future Combat Systems. This research
represents only one part of the ASB study, focusing specifically on
force effectiveness in a notional small-scale contingency and on the
associated spectrum of challenges that such a situation might entail.
In conducting the study, the research team interacted with various
members of the ASB, drawing extensively on their forward-looking
ideas and ultimately integrating many of them into the research.
High-resolution combat modeling and simulation was used to assess
many key aspects of force performance, environmental factors, and
system-of-systems interactions within the context of the scenario.
This work should be of interest to defense policymakers, military
technologists, and concept developers.
This research was conducted in the Force Development and Technology Program of RAND Arroyo Center. The Arroyo Center is a
federally funded research and development center sponsored by the
United States Army.
iii
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Exploring Technologies for the Future Combat Systems Program
For more information on RAND Arroyo Center, contact the
Director of Operations (telephone 310-393-0411, extension 6500;
FAX 310-451-6952; e-mail donnab@rand.org), or visit the Arroyo
Center’s Web site at http://www.rand.org/organization/ard/.