Army initiates study to measure value of precision-guided weapons.

• Author: Erwin, Sandra I.
• Position: Upfront

The soaring prices of precision-guided munitions have spawned yet another round of debates in the Army on the role these weapons will play on future battlefields and whether they are worth the cost.

While the Army continues to fund a variety of precision-guided weapon technologies for rockets, missiles and artillery projectiles, it also is trying to gauge future requirements for these systems and set realistic procurement goals, officials said.

Framing the discussion is a comprehensive study called "Precision Munitions Mix Analysis," expected to direct future buys and possibly set the stage for an internal competition for resources within the Army.

A study group led by the Army Training and Doctrine Command's Futures Center is scheduled to complete the report by September 2005.

A key question that this study must answer is "How much precision can we afford?" said Lt. Gen. Joseph Yakovac, the Army's top procurement officer.

Whether the Army can shift its doctrine and tactics away from "volume fires" to "precision fires" is a key topic the study will address, Yakovac said at a recent industry conference. He noted that the employment of precision-guided missiles in a similar tactical role as current artillery rounds is "becoming a big issue."

The Army, like the other services, is under growing pressure from the Defense Department to field weapons that can pinpoint and hit enemy targets precisely, without causing indiscriminate civilian casualties.

Many in the Army, however, are experiencing sticker shock when they compare the cost of a $1,500 artillery round with $30,000 to $80,000 for a precision-guided weapon, Yakovac noted. "There is a lot of capability we are looking at, but when we look at the cost, it's difficult."

The Precision Munitions Mix Analysis, or PMMA, will focus on Army requirements in 2014, when the service expects to introduce the Future Combat Systems, a family of 17 vehicles connected by a single command-and-control network.

According to a draft version of the study obtained by National Defense, the issues to be probed include:

* Battlefield missions and tasks that require employment of precision munitions.

* Battlefield factors and conditions that predominantly influence the employment of precision munitions.

* Accuracy requirements.

* Costs associated with each precision munition.

* Which precision munitions offer the greatest return on investment based on effectiveness, cost, risk and schedule.

* What mixes of precision...