WASHINGTON\u00a0\u2014\u00a0The U.S. Army outlined its top 10 modernization priorities in its fiscal 2018 budget request with air-and-missile defense and long-range fires at the top due to the possibility the force will confront substantial near-peer threats in areas where access by both air and land won’t come easily.
Long-range fires<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Army\u2019s second priority is to develop long-range fires capability, and the budget request asks to fund three of the service\u2019s most critical fires systems: a service life extension program for 121 expired Army Tactical Missile Systems, which will add another 10 years of life to the missiles; procurement of 6,000 Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System; and continued low-rate initial production of 93 Patriot Missile Segment Enhancement missiles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the research and development account, the Army wants to fund the development of increased range and precision guidance for cannons and missile systems and enable precision fires in a GPS-denied environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Funding also includes a next-generation common, low-drag, guided, hyper-velocity, cannon-launched artillery projectile “capable of multiple mission across different artillery system,” Horlander said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Munitions shortfall<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Army will stockpile its inventory of munitions in 2018, requesting to fund the production of 88,000 unguided Hydra 70 rockets and 480 rounds of war reserve inventory replenishing Excalibur munitions and modernizing ammunition industrial facilities “to improve munition production”; “replace depleted stocks”; and “create capacity for increased future demand,” Horlander said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some of that funding would go toward the improvement of the Holston Army Ammunition Plant in Tennessee, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
Mobility, lethality and protection of brigade combat teams<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n
The service is modernizing Abrams tanks, Stryker combat vehicles, Bradley Fighting Vehicles, the Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle, or AMPV, and Paladin Integrated Management howitzer fleets. The FY18 budget includes upgrades to Bradley and Abrams platforms and the procurement of 42 low-rate initial production\u00a0AMPVs\u00a0as well as 59 sets of Paladin systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Army also wants development funding for continued system-level testing for AMPV prototypes and a third-generation forward-looking infrared ammunition data link for advanced multi-purpose rounds for both Abrams and Bradley.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
Active protection systems<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n
The request also funds the procurement of commercially available active protection systems for Abrams tanks for installation on vehicles within the Army\u2019s armored brigade combat team in Europe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Assured position, navigation and timing<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Commercial and military global positioning are susceptible to jamming and spoofing,” Horlander said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Army is asking for both stand-alone and embedded capabilities for ground and air platforms communications, weapons systems and munitions to combat the threat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Assured\u00a0position, navigation and timing, or PNT, can provide these capabilities, Horlander said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
Electronic warfare\/signals intelligence<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Driven mostly by needs in the European theater, the Army is requesting funds to “provide planning capabilities to coordinate, manage and deconflict the use of electromagnetic spectrum and synchronized spectrum operations,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Army\u2019s Rapid Capabilities Office is also working to deliver an integrated EW capability to the tactical force and accelerate the development of assured PNT in a GPS-denied environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The budget also asks for funding to support the integration of the electronic warfare system, Prophet, on Stryker and mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Offensive and defensive cyber<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Army is focused on defensive cyber operations, and the request funds mission planning and protection measures in the cyber training environment, including such things as cyber ranges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Assured communications<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n
In order to eliminate network infrastructure capability gaps within the next 24 months, Horlander said, the Army would procure news system to support the network including the Joint Battle Command Platform and the Warfighter Information Network-Tactical.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
Vertical lift<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n
The service continues to work on its two major vertical lift programs, replacing the engines in UH-60 Black Hawks and AH-64 Apaches with the Improved Turbine Engine Program and continuing on a path to a future family of helicopters in the 2030s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Army will pick the winning engine from two competing teams in the ITEP program in 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The service is also funding product improvement programs for CH-47 Chinooks and Apaches.<\/p>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Army outlined its top 10 modernization priorities in its fiscal 2018 budget request with air-and-missile defense and long-range fires at the top due to the possibility the force will confront substantial near-peer threats in areas where access by both air and land won\u2019t come easily.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":51853,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":44,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[44,8,14],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3330],"class_list":["post-23914","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-budget","category-congress","category-land"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"WEZ6DR2R7VDHPO2N6OCQNRACVA","arc_canonical_url":"\/congress\/budget\/2017\/05\/26\/fy18-budget-request-the-army-s-top-10-modernization-priorities\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\n