Department of the Army Historical Summary: FY 1986

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Modernizing and Equipping the Army

The Army is in the midst of the largest peacetime modernization program in our nation's history. During the fiscal year, the M1/M1A1 Abrams tank, the Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle, the Black Hawk and AH-64 Apache helicopters, the multiple launch rocket system (MLRS), the Stinger and Patriot missile systems, and other new items were fielded in sizeable numbers. This equipment gives our soldiers a remarkable qualitative advance in weapon system capability. The Army also continued dynamic product improvement programs to achieve as much growth potential as possible in older systems. Systems such as the Chaparral, Hawk, and TOW missiles, the AH-1S Cobra, the Army Helicopter Improvement Program and CH-47D helicopters, the Fire Support Team Vehicle, M109 howitzers, I-81 mortars, and many others are synergistic partners on the battlefield because of product improvements.

These weapon systems and the soldiers who operate them work inextricably together on the battlefield; that is the essence of the combined arms concept and the belief that a numerically small but high-quality Army, working in a fully synchronized manner, will be able to hold its own against one with superior numbers. For this reason, the Army's research, development, and acquisition planning is linked early and continuously with doctrine, training, and force structure requirements to permit a coordinated advance across mission areas. The sections that follow highlight some of the more important events during the year in modernization and equipment in these mission areas.

The close combat mission area relates to the application of direct combat power. As the term indicates, close combat involves two adversaries pitted directly against each other, man

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against man, weapon against weapon. Included in this area are items such as tanks, fighting vehicle systems, direct line-of-sight weapons, and short-range mortars that are used by the infantryman.

A significant challenge to the Army is to develop and field, for the 1990s, an armored force that is capable of meeting the projected military threat but that imposes minimal costs for operations and support. On 10 January 1986 the Vice Chief of Staff established the Armored Family of Vehicles Task Force to define the Army's strategy for the development of such a family of vehicles. The task force is emphasizing commonality of vehicle components, modularity of construction, and multiple system capabilities. Included in the task force's scope are all types of armored vehicles, both heavy and light, as well as combat and combat support vehicles. With a permanent staff of about fifteen officers, the task force is headed by a major general who consults with all Training and Doctrine Command schools, reserve components, other services, and the U.S. NATO allies. A final report from the body is due in August 1987.

Fiscal year 1986 was the seventh year of production for the M1 Abrams tank, and the second year of procurement of the M1A1 version of the Abrams, which is equipped with a 120mm. gun (instead of the M1's 105-mm. gun) and a nuclear, biological, and chemical overpressure protective system. Production of both models totaled 529 for the year, and 7 battalions were fielded. The Army continued to pursue a product improvement program to assure that the Abrams, the primary ground combat weapon system for closing with and destroying enemy armored forces, maintains its competitive position through the 1980s and beyond.

Also continuing was conversion of M60A1 tanks to the improved M60A3 model equipped with gun stabilization, laser rangefinder, solid-state computer and thermal shroud, and a thermal imaging sight that extends capabilities during periods of reduced visibility. Conversions numbered 480 and involved 9 tank battalions.

The M2 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle became the subject of, controversy over its ability to survive on the battlefield. As the result of live-fire tests begun at Aberdeen Proving Ground in 1984, critics in Congress and within the Department of Defense charged that the fighting vehicle's armor was inadequate to protect troops inside the vehicle. Although the Army Chief of Staff suspended testing from April to Septem-

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ber 1986, fielding of the vehicles continued. At the end of the fiscal year, the number of Bradleys in service stood at 2,562. The Bradley provides the mechanized infantry with a full-track, lightly armored fighting vehicle, and scout and armored cavalry units with a vehicle for their screening, reconnaissance, and security missions. Both the infantry and cavalry versions have a two-man turret that mounts a 25-mm. automatic cannon; this primary armament is supported by the TOW antitank guided missile system and a 7.62-mm. coaxial machine gun. In addition, six 5.56-mm. firing port weapons are positioned along the side and the rear of the infantry version of the vehicle. A more lethal TOW 2 missile system for the Bradley was in production in 1986 and is scheduled for fielding in 1987.

Production of the new AH-64 Apache attack helicopter increased significantly during the year. The Army received 117 units, bringing the total number of Apaches in the fleet to 165. A quick-reacting, airborne antitank weapon, the Apache is equipped with a target acquisition designation sight and a pilot night vision sensor that permit its two-man crew to navigate and attack in darkness and in adverse weather conditions. Although the principal mission of the helicopter is the destruction of enemy armor with the Hellfire missile, it is also equipped with a 30-mm. chain gun and Hydra 70 rockets that are lethal against a wide variety of targets. Deployment of the weapon began in 1986; when fielding is completed, the Apache will be the Army's primary attack helicopter.

Twice during the year, the Army found it necessary to ground its Apache fleet. The first grounding occurred on 27 January after cracks were found in the rotor blades of fourteen of the aircraft. A subsequent investigation by the manufacturer determined that the cracks were caused by a tool used to adjust the trailing edge of the 22-foot-long blade. Redesign of the tool eliminated the problem, and the Army lifted the grounding order on 20 February 1986. Deliveries, but not production, were halted during the grounding period. On 12 March, a civilian test pilot at Fort Rucker, Alabama, experienced control problems with an Apache before takeoff. As a precaution, the Army again grounded the Apache fleet and suspended deliveries. The culprit in this second incident proved to be a defective four-inch bolt in the aircraft's upper flight control support assembly. Working together, the Army and the manufacturer designed a new hardened-steel bolt. On 16 April, after ordering units to install the new bolts, the Army

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rescinded the grounding order and opened the way for the resumption of Apache deliveries and training.

In line with steadily increasing production rates for the Apache, the Army in 1985 instituted a competition between two manufacturers for annual production lots of the helicopter's primary weapon, the Hellfire antitank missile. Each year, the low bidder in the continuing contract competition will receive a large share of the contract, while the other firm gets the remainder. This novel arrangement represents a departure from the Army's usual sole-source contract during the first few years of a weapon system's life, when low initial quantities and unproven production techniques and specifications often discourage bidding. With its relatively trouble-free development history and prospect of high-quantity production, the Hellfire seemed well suited to the dual-source acquisition strategy. Early in 1986, however, the Army announced that it would buy no Hellfires in 1987 because of a backlog in production caused by problems with the missile's guidance circuits. The missile homes in on a laser spot that can be projected against a target by ground observers, other aircraft, or the launching aircraft's own designators.

The Army began the Apache program to meet challenges that could not easily be met by the Cobra series of helicopters. A single engine, two-place attack helicopter, the AH-1 Cobra saw extensive combat in Vietnam. In its original configuration, the Cobra was an excellent weapon against enemy personnel and lightly armored vehicles, but had no capability against tanks. In 1977 the Army mated the TOW missile with the AH-1 to produce the TOW/Cobra, or AH-1S. While an effective weapon system, the Cobra is limited in performance and largely confined to operation in fair weather. In addition, the TOW missile is wire-guided, and the launching aircraft must keep the target in its sights until missile impact, thus tending to expose the helicopter to enemy missile and gun fire. Since the Cobra will remain in service in a complementary role long after the fielding of the Apache, the Army in June 1986 announced plans to equip about half of the Cobra fleet with a new targeting system that will permit the aircraft to perform anti-armor, armed escort, and reconnaissance missions at night and during bad weather. The new system, employing infrared sensors rather than radar for night operations, can be used to fire the TOW and the helicopter's 20-mm. automatic cannon and 2.75-inch rockets.

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In another upgrade effort, the Army Helicopter Improvement Program (AHIP), the service received the first production OH-58D observation helicopters. A refurbished OH-58A, the OH-58D (commonly referred to as the AHIP) is fitted with a mast-mounted sight that enables the aircraft to operate at night and in other conditions of limited visibility. The sight incorporates a special television, a thermal imaging system, and a laser designator-range finder. Using the sight, the crew can scout and direct artillery fire while hovering behind trees and hilltops, safe from direct enemy fire. Although the AHIP is designed to be used in attack, cavalry, and artillery roles, the Army confined its use to field artillery observation, approving an initial low rate of production and directing that a follow-on test be conducted. The Army, on 1 April 1986, formed a task force at the Aviation Center, Fort Rucker, Alabama, to remedy deficiencies in the AHIP.

At an earlier stage is the Advanced Anti-Tank Weapon System-Medium (AAWS-M), a medium antitank missile that will replace the Dragon wire-guided missile. In August 1986 the Army Missile Command awarded contracts to three contractors for a demonstration of possible technologies for the AAWS-M. The goal is a weapon that can be carried by the individual soldier, is easy to operate and economical to maintain, and is effective against heavy armor.

The M-249 Squad Automatic Weapon, the Army's new light machine gun, encountered problems in field tests during the year. Although found to be reliable and accurate, the weapon presented unacceptable hazards in the form of an exposed hot barrel when in use, sharp edges, and a front sight that required special adjustment tools. Consequently, the Army halted production of the weapon, and Congress deleted funds for it from the fiscal 1986 defense budget. In addition, Congress retroactively set aside for other purposes, including retirement and pay raises, money for the program in the 1985 budget. Over 1,100 M-249s already issued were to remain in use but be retrofitted. The remaining Squad Automatic Weapons-over 7,000-were to stay in depots until corrective changes could be made.

In December 1985 the Army completed deployment in the Federal Republic of Germany of the Pershing II missile system. The U.S. 56th Field Artillery Command is now equipped with

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36 single-warhead Pershing IIs at each of three sites, making a total of 108 missiles. Deliveries of the Pershing II were temporarily suspended in January 1985 after three U.S. soldiers died in a fire that ignited while they were unloading missile components from a shipping container. A subsequent Army investigation concluded that static electricity had caused combustion in the solid propellant rocket motor, and the Army modified the missiles, their transporters, and procedures before resuming deployment. Deployment of the Pershing II system was completed on schedule, and the Army conducted a number of successful flight tests using the 56th Field Artillery Command's troops and missile systems.

During the year, the MLRS continued to be fielded. The primary missions of the MLRS are counterfire and suppression of enemy air defenses. The MLRS supplements cannon artillery by delivering heavy volumes of improved conventional submunitions in a short time against critical targets. Germany, one of five international partners in an MLRS deployment program, continued its work on a scatterable mine warhead for the system. Also in train was the co-development by the United States, the United Kingdom, the Federal Republic of Germany, and France of a terminal guidance warhead to defeat armor.

Fielded in the early 1960s, the M109 self-propelled howitzer is designed to provide the primary indirect fire support to the maneuver brigades of the armor and mechanized infantry divisions. An improved model, the M109A2, is in full-scale production, with final delivery scheduled for 1987. A depot-modified version, the M109A3, has the same performance capabilities as the M109A2. The M109A2/A3 is transportable in a C-5 cargo plane and can fire both conventional and nonconventional munitions. In October 1985 the Army began the development of a major modification of this fielded system, including automotive improvements, nuclear, chemical, and biological protection for the crew, a driver's night vision device, enhanced communications, a ballistic computer and navigation system, and built-in test equipment.

The Army's new light divisions presented a challenge as to how to provide these maneuver organizations with necessary fire support without unduly weighing them down. A workable solution came in the form of the British Royal Ordnance L119, a 105-mm. light howitzer. Now type-classified as the M119, this weapon will replace the M102 and M101A1 howitzers in light divisions. Early in the fiscal year, the Field Artillery Board at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, completed its test of the M119, which

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passed with some qualifications. The weapon had a tendency to bounce at higher elevations and charges, but this flaw did not affect accuracy of fire. Testers successfully displaced the 4,100-pound howitzer using high mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicles (HMMWVs) and the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter. With the M119, light division commanders will have the improved range and performance needed to maintain maneuverability and the ability to strike quickly. The howitzer fires all of the conventional 105-mm. ammunition in the Army's inventory, and will be fielded with rocket-assisted projectiles and dual-purpose improved conventional munitions.

Units in Korea began to receive the M981 Fire Support Team Vehicle during the year. A modified M113A2 armored personnel carrier, this vehicle gives the Field Artillery's fire support teams the ability to rapidly direct motor, artillery, and air-delivered fire support through use of any of its four radios and to designate targets for laser-guided munitions. In order to perform these functions, the vehicle is equipped with a ground/vehicular laser locator designator, a north-seeking gyrocompass, and a position locating and reporting system. These electronic components permit rapid generation of very accurate target location data that is transmitted to the artillery battalion's fire direction center by an on-board, four channel, digital message device.

The 20-mm. Vulcan air defense gun, which has been in service for almost twenty years, has limited target acquisition and fire control capabilities. In addition, the gun's range is restricted to 1.6 kilometers. Although the Army's Product Improved Vulcan Air Defense System program is designed to improve the weapon, the service had expected the Sgt. York Division Air Defense (DIVAD) Gun System to replace the Vulcan. That expectation ended with the cancellation by the Secretary of Defense of the Sgt. York in August 1985 because of problems of technology and cost and change in the projected threat. Consequently, the Army developed the Forward Area Air Defense System plan to coordinate its air defense needs. The plan consists of five elements: a missile to engage targets out of the gunner's line of sight; a gun-missile hybrid in the stead of the DIVAD; a light Army vehicle outfitted with Stinger missiles to create a line-of-sight rear weapon for division rear areas; improved Army communications and surveillance sys-

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tems; and the creation of some air defense capabilities for the M 1 Abrams tank and the M2 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle through upgrading of their guns and ammunition. Development work on the plan is scheduled to begin in 1987.

For theater air defense, the Army will depend primarily on the Patriot its new all-altitude missile system. Designed to acquire, track, and engage several enemy aircraft simultaneously, even in the face of intensive electronic countermeasures, the Patriot eventually will replace the older Nike Hercules and Hawk systems. The Patriot design eases logistical burdens, since its overall performance is achieved with less equipment, less operational manpower, and fewer repair parts than the current systems. During an air battle, the only manned element of a Patriot battery, or fire unit, would be the engagement control station, which provides for human control of automated operations. A fire unit will consist of eight unmanned launchers, each loaded with four ready-to-fire missiles that are sealed in canisters and require no field maintenance. In August 1986 the 2d Battalion, 3d Air Defense Artillery, the fourth Patriot battalion to be trained, was deployed to the Federal Republic of Germany. Earlier in the year, the Chiefs of Staff of the Army and the Air Force agreed that the Army will retain primary responsibility for the Patriot system. This decision, made after a year's study, reflected problems of cost, personnel, and fielding that would have been involved in a transfer of the system to the Air Force.

Product improvement continued during the year in several of the other important missile systems in the Army's inventory. These systems include the Hawk, a medium-range system designed to provide air defense coverage against low to medium altitude air attack; the Chaparral, a short-range air defense surface-to-air system; and the Stinger, a shoulder-fired, infrared homing missile whose mission is to provide air defense coverage to even the smallest of combat units.

The President's Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) continued to be among the top priorities of the Department of Defense. The SDI stemmed from a 23 March 1983 speech in which the President called for a "comprehensive and intensive effort to define a long-term research and development program to begin to achieve our ultimate goal of eliminating the threat posed by strategic nuclear missiles." During the year, the Army

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played a major role in SDI through the work of the U.S. Army Strategic Defense Command (USASDC), which was authorized 977 personnel and received approximately one-third of the Department of Defense's Strategic Defense Initiative Organization's research, development, testing, and evaluation budget of $2.7 billion. The USASDC headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, gave direction to its ballistic missile defense program, located in Huntsville, Alabama. In addition, the command continued to operate the Kwajalein Missile Range as a Department of Defense National Range. One of two U.S. ranges designated for ballistic missile defense testing, the Kwajalein range was also a principal target in the testing of strategic offensive missiles.

From the late 1950s to the beginning of SDI in 1983, research and development in ballistic missile defense was the purview principally of USASDC's predecessors. The USASDC, created on 1 July 1985, carries forward the Army's involvement in this area within five SDI program elements: surveillance, acquisition, tracking, and kill assessment; kinetic energy weapons; directed energy weapons; systems analysis and battle management; and survivability, lethality, and key technologies.

The Army made progress on a variety of major SDI projects during the fiscal year. Airborne Optical Adjunct involves airborne optical sensors that acquire, track, and discriminate among data, then give the data to ground-based radar. This technology would be essential for future applications of airborne optics to defense concepts. Terminal Imaging Radar would be a ground-based radar able to discriminate multiple targets in real time at high altitudes within the atmosphere. The radar would receive data from an airborne optical sensor and provide reentry vehicle state vectors to defense interceptors. The technology for a low-cost, ground-based, nonnuclear defense interceptor that could be employed against reentry vehicles in midcourse, outside the atmosphere, is the object of the Exoatmospheric Reentry-vehicle Interceptor Subsystem. This technology would require a multistage, lightweight interceptor with a precommit optical sensor for homing in on its target. The High Endoatmospheric Defense Interceptor project involves technology for a ground-launched nonnuclear interceptor that would operate in the upper reaches of the atmosphere in conjunction with the ground-based radar. A ground-based laser would be a unique laser utilizing electron beam energy. Work on this project anticipates a boost-kill phase system whose beam would be directed against targets by bouncing it off large relay mirrors based in space.

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A major USASDC achievement during the year was the sixth flight of the Flexible Lightweight Agile Guided Experiment. On 27 June 1986 this ground-launched vehicle scored a direct hit against a rocket-boosted target at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico. This success confirmed the vehicle's ability to achieve accuracies required for nonnuclear kills within the atmosphere.

The direction of the Department of Defense that SDI organizations involve U.S. allies in SDI had a significant impact on USASDC in 1986, beginning with the creation within the command of a Multinational Programs Office to facilitate contact with other countries. The Strategic Defense Initiative Organization designated the Army as the lead service for theater defense architectures and gave USASDC the lead in developing the needed technologies and systems. To demonstrate how system elements function collectively, USASDC initiated plans to provide a European theater defense test bed and combined Allied defense experiments. Architectural studies involving concepts and requirements, as well as interim system development, became the concern of the command.

Combat Support

On 7 June 1986 an abrasion strip came off the tail rotor of an OH-6 light observation helicopter in flight near Fort Campbell, Kentucky. The pilot experienced control problems but landed the aircraft, which rolled over on its side, breaking off the main rotor blades. The Army grounded its entire fleet of OH-6s until the entire leading edge of each rotor strip could be examined closely for defects. On 16 July 1986 the Army lifted the grounding and announced that the fleet of 364 OH-6s would be returned to flight status over the next two months as the tail rotor assemblies were repaired.

Engineering development proceeded on the Aquila remotely piloted vehicle, a small, propeller-driven, automatically and remotely controlled aircraft. Intended primarily for target acquisition and field artillery support, the Aquila is designed to survive over hostile territory. In addition to adjusting artillery fire and laser-designating targets for destruction by laser-guided munitions, the aircraft can perform aerial reconnaissance functions. Rail-launched from a flatbed truck, the Aquila can be recovered after a mission and reused. Second-stage development and operational tests of the Aquila should be completed in 1987.

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Tough enough to live and fight with the infantry, and fast enough to move with tanks, the M9 armored combat earthmover is a tracked, amphibious, armored earthmoving vehicle that is designed to provide critical combat engineer support to fighting forces. The M9 creates man-made and enhances natural obstacles in order to slow and channelize enemy maneuver, thereby making enemy forces more vulnerable, and digs in friendly weapon systems to increase their ability to survive. A competitive single-year procurement of the M9 was awarded in July 1986 and production continued with the expected execution of the first of five priced options in November 1986. In March 1986 the 7th Infantry Division (Light) became the first unit to be equipped with the vehicle from Low Rate Initial Production.

Army ground combat forces require a system that can be rapidly deployed by engineer units to clear lanes in minefields. Operations must be conducted under enemy fire and in daylight or darkness. To meet this need, the Army began acquisition in fiscal year 1986 of the Marine Corps' trailer-mounted M58 line charge system, which consists of the M58 high explosive linear demolition charge; the Mark 22 five-inch rocket, for projecting the explosive charge across the minefield, a rocket launcher with firing kit; and the standard Army M353 trailer. The charge is contained in a box that is cradled on the rocket launcher, which in turn is mounted on the trailer. A light forces engineer vehicle tows the assembled system to about fifty meters from the edge of a minefield and the rocket is fired, pulling the line charge across the minefield with it. With the line charge resting across the minefield, the operator detonates the charge.

To meet the urgent requirement for a scattermine system in the light infantry divisions, the Army during the year began procurement of the VOLCANO rapid mine dispensing system. VOLCANO is composed of mounted launcher racks with mounting hardware, an electrical dispenser control unit, and a mine canister loaded with GATOR antitank or antipersonnel mines, both of which are in procurement by the Air Force and the Navy. VOLCANO can be fitted to either the Black Hawk helicopter or Army ground vehicles. With VOLCANO, a Black Hawk can deliver about 960 mines.

The Army continued efforts to improve the nuclear-biological-chemical defensive aspects of chemical warfare deterrence. Fielding of a new lightweight decontamination system and production of a new chemical agent monitor continued, while de-

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velopment of a new protective mask and other individual and collective protection, detection, and warning equipment proceeded. The service awarded an initial procurement contract for a large area smoke screening generator to permit smoke-screening on the move by HMMWVs and M113A2 armored personnel carriers.

During the year the Army's chemical demilitarization program changed significantly. PL 99-145, passed in November 1985, requires the destruction of the entire unitary chemical stockpile by September 1994 in conjunction with the acquisition of binary chemical weapons. In March 1986 the Army submitted to Congress a demilitarization concept plan that outlined alternative procedures and program costs. The chemical stockpile is located at eight sites in the continental United States, and on Johnston Atoll and in Europe. In addition to initiating a programmatic environmental impact statement, the Army began construction on the Johnston Atoll Chemical Agent Disposal System.

Congress gave the Army's chemical stockpile modernization program full funding authority, with some restrictions. By the end of the fiscal year, all congressional requirements were met to allow the President to certify that initial production of the 155-mm. binary projectile could commence. Advanced development of the MLRS binary chemical warhead continued with a series of highly successful flight tests.

Development continued in a number of other combat support areas. These included the joint Surveillance and Target Attack Radar System, a battle management and targeting system that detects, locates, tracks, classifies, and assists in attacking both moving and stationary targets beyond the forward line of troops; (Quick Fix, a tactical, heliborne, electronic jamming system; and improved nuclear projectiles for the standard 8-inch and 155-mm. howitzers.

Deliveries of the UH-60A Black Hawk helicopter continued to U.S. Army Forces Command; U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command; U.S. Army, Europe; U.S. Army, Japan; and U.S. Army Reserve and National Guard units. The Black Hawk, which is being fielded to air assault, air cavalry, and aeromedical evacuation organizations, can carry more than twice the UH-1 payload and is capable of transporting an entire eleven-man, fully equipped squad faster and in all weather conditions.

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On 12 March 1986, the day after a Black Hawk crash in Elba, Alabama, killed three soldiers, the Army grounded its entire fleet of 698 UH-60A's-the second time in eleven months that the fleet had been grounded because of safety concerns. After the previous grounding order, issued in the spring of 1985, Army investigators found problems in the main rotor hub. The Army subsequently directed the manufacturer to make $6.5 million in repairs and lifted the flight ban in the summer of 1985. On 30 April 1986 the Army lifted the second grounding order, even though total destruction of the aircraft had prevented investigators from determining the cause of the 12 March crash. The investigation did reveal, however, several areas for improvement in the Black Hawk, including repositioning of some of the control switches to afford easier access for pilots during flight. Also, Black Hawk pilots were required to perform more extensive preflight checks and more frequent maintenance checks.

The Army procured six more C-12 airplanes during the year, bringing the total of these low wing, twin engine, pressurized cabin, passenger and cargo carrying utility aircraft in the inventory to 104. Capable of operating under instrument flight conditions day or night, in high-density air traffic control zones, and in known icing weather conditions, the C-12 contributes to the combat readiness and effectiveness of both active and reserve component units (about 20 percent of the airplanes are with National Guard units).

After brake pedal failures on three HMMWVs-two at Fort Dix, New Jersey, in November 1985, and the third at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, in January 1986-the Army banned use of the vehicles and temporarily stopped accepting them from the manufacturer. In each failure, none of which caused an accident or injury, the brake pedal assembly broke off the shaft connecting it to the brake cylinder, about two feet below the pedal itself. To correct the problem, the manufacturer replaced the brake ,pedal assembly on each HMMWV in the Army's inventory with another containing two extra welds. By mid-March the replacements were completed and the fleet of HMMWVs had been returned to service. No sooner had the manufacturer resumed deliveries of the vehicles, however, than delays in the receipt of insulation components caused a two-month suspension of production.

The HMMWVs are used in airborne, airmobile, and light infantry divisions as weapons carriers for the TOW missile, in addition to filling roles as reconnaissance, fire support, com-

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munication, personnel transport, and command and control vehicles, and ambulances, in various other Army units. The four-wheel-drive HMMWV is diesel powered and uses a common chassis with various body configurations to meet these requirements. Eventually, the HMMWV will replace all M274s (1/2-ton Mules), all 11/4-ton M561 Gama Goats, and selected M151 Jeeps (1/4-ton) .

Soldier Support

Among developments in items that directly support the individual soldier was the issue of the first Micro Climate Cooling Vests. Designed to reduce heat casualties caused by long periods spent in an armored vehicle or a nuclear-biological-chemical suit, the vests provide personal air conditioning for the soldier. In a tank, hot air from the vehicle's turbine engine passes through a cooling system to a tube connected to the vest, which is worn under the battle dress uniform shirt. The vest carries 70° F. air over the soldier's torso, thus cooling vital organs in that area of his body. By means of a switch on a Y-valve on the vest tube, the soldier can control the amount of air entering the vest. The M1A1 Abrams tanks produced during the fiscal year were equipped with the Micro Climate Cooling Vests.

The Army approved for use a complete suit of Kevlar body armor for explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) specialists. These technicians currently use the standard protective gear for infantry soldiers, the Kevlar helmet and vest. Some EOD units have supplemented the standard infantry gear with locally purchased items of body armor-an indication of the need for the new suit. Made of laminated layers of Kevlar, with a face shield of polycarbon and acrylic, the suit will protect a soldier from the blast of a two-pound pipe bomb at close range: This item will be available for issue in fiscal year 1989.

Fielding of the new camouflaged chemical protective battle dress overgarment continued. The U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command announced new doctrine that extends the overgarment's wear life in terms of increased days of wear and increased chemical protection.

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The Army awarded a contract during the year for production of Mobile Subscriber Equipment, an area communications system that will be fielded at the corps and division levels. Mobile Subscriber Equipment provides, to principal commanders and their staffs, the highest degree of mobility and area communications service for voice, data, and facsimile. Commanders and their staffs thus can exercise command and control over their forces on a rapidly changing battlefield. (An approximate commercial equivalent is a telephone system with mobile radiotelephone service and data capability.) The system is interoperable with the joint Tactical Communications Program, combat net radios, commercial telephone, and NATO systems. It allows users to keep the same telephone number as they move on the battlefield, and will automatically route calls around damaged or jammed nodes. Since market surveys had determined that systems like Mobile Subscriber Equipment were already available, the Army decided to accept the best available system rather than develop the "ultimate" system; the result is a significant saving of time, money, and personnel.

Testing began on the modules of the All Source Analysis System, which will be the control system for the Intelligence/ Electronic Warfare subsystem of the Army Command and Control System. Many sophisticated sensor systems already have been fielded, but the ability to process the resultant information and distribute timely intelligence to battle commanders is limited by manual and partially automated methods now employed. The All Source Analysis System will provide modern minicomputer systems to speed the process and improve its accuracy and effectiveness. Under the joint Tactical Fusion Program, the system is being developed together with the Air Force counterpart system, the Enemy Situation Correlation.

The Army awarded a multiyear production contract for the Tactical Army Combat Service Support Computer System (TACCS). TACCS is a transportable, commercially available computer system that has been made more rugged for use on the battlefield. The system is intended for use at various levels of command down to battalion, in missions that include personnel, supply, maintenance, medical, ammunition, and transportation. Primary functions of the system are data entry, in-

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quiry and retrieval, editing, printing, and data transmission to higher level systems.

Fiscal year 1986 saw the initial fielding of the Maneuver Control System, a militarized, automated command and control system that provides computer-aided support for decision making by tactical commanders and their battle staffs at corps through brigade levels. The Army also awarded, during the year, a contract for procurement of commercially available hardware for the tactical computer processor, a part of the Maneuver Control System.

The Single Channel Ground and Airborne Radio System (SINCGARS) went into low rate initial production in December 1983. Lightweight and capable of providing secured voice and data transmission, the SINCGARS family of radios also possesses electronic anti-jamming features. The Army delayed full-scale production after it found that the initial production radios fell far short of the frequency of repair standard for the equipment. A contract for 16,000 radios could not be awarded in fiscal year 1986 as planned because the contractor had problems in meeting the contractual reliability requirements. SINCGARS therefore had to remain in low-rate initial production. When fielded, SINCGARS will be a major means of communication for armor, artillery, and infantry forces from brigade to platoon level.

The increasing congestion in the radio spectrum, and new radio and radar technology to reduce the effects of jamming, have accentuated the need for automation in battlefield frequency management and in the dissemination of communications-electronics operating instructions. During the year, the Army formed study groups and spectrum management and frequency committees to address the congestion aspect of jamming.

On the last day of the fiscal year, the Army implemented the joint Interoperability of Command and Control Systems (JINTACCS). Designed to enhance interoperability among the services, JINTACCS consists of a series of standardized messages and is particularly useful where regular reporting is required.

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