Rumors are strong that the Pentagon is set to "break up" the FCS prime contract while keeping its separate elements alive. Excepting the Manned Ground Vehicle element, which will be cancelled, the program will be renamed the Army Brigade Combat Team Modernization (ABCTM). The prime contractors, Boeing and SAIC, will be "yanked off the job" ( in the words of Defense News' Kris Osborn) after having spent tens of billions as lead systems integrators.
I have some nostalgia for FCS, having had a hand in helping Boeing win the program back in 2002. My company at the time, SM&A, managed Boeing's competitive effort to a very successful and surprising win over Lockheed Martin and other defense primes. I sold the SM&A effort to Boeing senior executives at the Paris Air Show in 2001. The win transformed Boeing into a key Army contractor, a claim that formerly could be made only by Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, General Dynamics, and handful of other primes.
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