Army selects vendors for FCS training

The Future Combat System also passes key program review.

The Army has awarded contracts to five companies to provide training, doctrine and combat development services for the Future Combat System (FCS).

CACI, Camber, Dynamics Research Corp., Northrop Grumman and RTI will vie for task orders in the $97 million program, said Clara Patterson, a contract specialist in the Army Contracting Agency’s Northern Regional Contracting Center. The services involve updating armor-related training products, programs and strategies for FCS.

FCS is the Army’s next-generation fighting force of 18 more lighter, lethal and mobile manned and robotic air and ground systems connected by a fast, secure communications network. The multibillion-dollar initiative program passed a major program review earlier this month that validated the systems can work together on the battlefield.

“The system of systems function review is a multi-disciplined technical review to ensure the systems-of-systems requirements, design and functional baseline are at levels that warrant moving forward into the preliminary design phase of the program,” according to an Aug. 15 Boeing statement. Boeing and Science Applications International Corp. serve as the lead systems integrator for FCS helping the Army develop, manage and build it.