Vehicles strut their stuff in desert trials.

• Author: Parsons, Dan
• Position: Tactical Vehicles

For several weeks, soldiers have been trundling around the New Mexico desert at White Sands Missile Range in a variety of armored vehicles--both foreign and domestic. They've been taking notes on what capabilities the Army should seek in its new infantry fighting vehicle.

The evaluation of non-developmental vehicles is part of a larger analysis of alternatives mandated by the Defense Department to ferret out available commercial technologies that might fit the bill for variants of the Ground Combat Vehicle. With this round of vehicle testing, Army leaders are taking the novel approach of teaming with the Network Integration Evaluation process--an effort to test and field new secure battlefield communication systems.

Non-network program managers have taken notice and less than a year after it was created, the NIE has become a case of "if you build it, they will come," with vehicle manufacturers lining up to have their designs tested. Aircraft and weapons could be next, Army officials said.

With an entire brigade out testing radios and other equipment, Allay ground system program managers saw a cost-effective way to gain real-world feedback from the personnel who will eventually drive and ride in the infantry fighting vehicle, one variant of a wider program called the Ground Combat Vehicle.

Scott Davis, program executive officer for Army ground combat systems, ventured to say the ultimate decision could be to buy an existing vehicle, though other officials from both the Army and industry sides say that is unlikely without significant modifications.

"The point is to take a look at different components of these vehicles and systems and ask how they can inform the analysis of alternatives," said Paul Mehney, a spokesman for the Army program executive office for integration. "You've got a full brigade, an operational construct and a system of data collection. The Army asked vehicle program managers, 'Can we get more out of this?"

The Ground Combat Vehicle is the Army's program to replace armored vehicles attached to its brigade combat teams. Plans are to begin fielding a platform by 2017 that can carry at least nine soldiers, plus crew in improvised explosive device threat environments. The Army wants eventually to purchase about 1,800 of them in several variants.

The IFV model will eventually replace the Bradley Fighting Vehicle. The Bradley, as a fleet, is in fairly good shape, said Davis. All of the Bradleys the Army owns have been fully reset within the past three years. There are about 6,500 in the Army's inventory.

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