Editor'scorner.

• Position: Brief Article - Editorial

Since the U.S. Army announced last November that it had selected the Light Armored Vehicle as its new combat platform, much has been said and written about what this means for the Army's future.

The first LAVs will be delivered in February 2002 and Army units already have started training with Canadian LAVs. But critics have raised questions about the off-road mobility and the survivability of the LAV. Army officials defend their choice, while critics express their views in our cover story, which begins on page 22.

Meanwhile, Army traditionalists will be happy to learn that a major project is under way to upgrade the M1 Abrams main battle tank, which has been a reliable workhorse for the U.S. Army for many years. The Abrams is too heavy for rapid-deployment missions, but, nevertheless, will stay in the fleet for several decades, because Army officials still expect that a heavy force will be needed in future conflicts. An update on the M1 improvements program starts on page 26. On page 24, we provide a roundup of what other nations--Russia, France, Germany and the United Kingdom--are doing to improve their heavy armor forces.

Another topic of interest in this issue of National Defense is the Department of Energy's International Nuclear Safety Program, which has focused, during the past seven years, on trying to improve the safety of 67 Soviet-designed nuclear...