Department of the Army Historical Summary: FY 1973

III.

Force Development

With the Vietnam War ended, Army strength leveled off at intended postwar levels, making it possible to proceed under peacetime conditions with organizational planning, operational concepts and doctrine, manpower allocation, training and schooling, materiel requirements, and the other elements that go into force development.

A number of actions were taken to insure that both military and civilian manpower would be carefully managed under postwar constraints. To reduce grade authorizations in the Army Authorization Document System to the level provided for in the Officer Grade Limitation Act, officer grade authorizations were set up for all Army commands and agencies in March and April 1973; documentation under these constraints will be established for each element's position at the end of fiscal year 1974. Although this action reduced field grade authorizations, it increased company grades a like amount. There was no net change in officer end strength.

The same could not be said for civilian end strength. At the start of fiscal year 1973, the Army was authorized in the President's budget a civilian work force of 367,122. By the close of the year this had been reduced to 343,622 as a result of the withdrawal from Vietnam, military force reductions, and fiscal constraints. Actual strength at year's end, on the other hand, had dropped even lower, to 333,235 (not including disadvantaged youth employees), the result of accelerated retirements prompted by a 6.1 percent bonus offered to those who elected to terminate their service by 30 June 1973. On that date the composition of the civilian work force was as follows

During the year the Army program to develop an improved tactical command and control capability through an Integrated Battlefield Control System (IBCS) continued to show progress. This program, as defined and governed by the Army Tactical Command and Control Master Plan, is a comprehensive one that establishes a logical sequence for the progressive development, testing, and introduction of new and improved doc-

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trine, organization, procedures, sand equipment for command and control. Its goal is to provide battlefield commanders at each echelon with the improved command and control capabilities required to take advantage of advances in mobility, firepower, battlefield intelligence, and communications.

Studies and tests are being made to identify the best possible staff organization and procedures to field at tactical echelons. The newly organized U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command will conduct detailed studies to develop candidate organizations and procedures. Results of these studies will then be subjected to exhaustive testing by the Modern Army Selected Systems Test, Evaluation, and Review (MASSTER ) facility at Fort Hood, Texas; findings, conclusions, and recommendations will lead to further refinement of staff organization and procedures. During fiscal year 1973, the second of a series of division-level studies was completed; results will be tested in 1974. Study was also begun to improve the command and control system for echelons above the division. This effort includes an examination of strategic and tactical interface requirements. The program is intended to provide a fully integrated tactical command and control^- system that will mesh with similar systems of the other services.

Development of the Army Tactical Data Systems (ARTADS) proceeded concurrently with the development of staff organizations and procedures. Although the Tactical Fire Direction System (TACFIRE) program experienced some delay during engineering ,and service testing in fiscal year 1973, system design was determined to be basically sound and the program continued. Development efforts for the Tactical Operations System (TOS) also continued; the Office of the Secretary of Defense approved the development concept for the system, including test fundings, in September 1972. And finally, contractor testing continued on the Air Defense Command and Control System (AN/TSQ-73 Missile Minder), and development of the Air Traffic Management Automated Center (ATMAC) was started in October 1972 with a contract for modeling and concept formulation.

There were other developments in fiscal year 1973 in the fields of electronic warfare, airspace control, and materiel acquisition. Electronic warfare (EW) is military use of electromagnetic energy to determine, exploit, reduce, or prevent hostile use of the electromagnetic spectrum; it also includes friendly use of the spectrum. In the report year, EW training and concepts were combined in one major command, the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command. Proponency for training within the command was vested in the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. A new concept for EW support to tactical forces was developed and approved; along with other support-

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ing concepts it will realign EW forces and place them in appropriate locations to support key tactical forces. An EW documentary program was pursued through the year to support equipment research and development test and evaluation programs, and departmental guidance was developed for a detailed review of Army EW programs, concepts, and capabilities preparatory to development of an EW Master Plan to be completed in September 1973.

In May 1972 the U.S. Army Combat Developments Command and MASSTER prepared a plan to evaluate the Army's airspace control system, and MASSTER was directed to conduct the evaluation, which took place from June to September 1972. The findings and conclusions centered around the potential interference among mortar, field artillery, and aircraft operations in the airspace over a division area. As a result of the findings, two airspace control systems were evaluated from October to November 1972, leading to development by MASSTER of a proposed Army airspace control system. This will be evaluated by the Training and Doctrine Command and presented to Headquarters, Department of the Army, for approval and field evaluation.

Training and Schooling

On 20 February 1973, the functions of unit training were transferred from the Office of the Assistant Chief of Staff for Force Development to the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Military Operations. There were numerous developments during the year that involved training programs, tests, literature, devices, ammunition, and the like. There was continuing effort to decentralize training further by revising Army Training Programs (ATP's) and Army Training Tests (ATT's). The aim is to make them guides for users—to be modified by commanders to reflect the resources, requirements, and mission of a unit—rather than restrictive programs and tests. Systems engineering philosophy and techniques were developed for ATP's and ATT's, and prototype documents were prepared by Army schools.

The Army continued to emphasize adventure training during the year. Adventure training is designed to provide individuals and units with unusual experiences, involving some degree of risk, that build unit integrity by developing self-reliance, physical ability, mental stamina, attitude, leadership, and the desire to excel. Every effort is made to inject imaginative, innovative, challenging, and adventurous features into training. Adventure training may include such activities as survival training, cross-country movement, mountaineering, skiing, parachuting, and scuba diving. Some of these activities, such as the one in which a military unit retraced the route of Lewis and Clark, have been highly publicized.

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In the summer of 1972 the Army began to field test and evaluate a number of concepts developed by a Defense Reserve Component Study Group to improve Reserve Component readiness. The purpose is to determine the ability of these units to perform assigned missions, ways to improve their readiness, and how best to mix Reserve Component and active Army units. Four concepts were appraised: measures to improve the readiness of Reserve Component units in peacetime without changing existing command or organizational relationships, post-mobilization measures to reduce the time between mobilization and availability of Reserve Component units for deployment, measures to reduce the time required after mobilization to have Reserve Component units available for deployment, and measures that do not affect any Reserve Component troop units but do influence the peacetime manning levels of active Army divisions.

In November 1972 the British Army formally requested and the U.S. Army approved a training visit by a Royal Army Engineer squadron. Exercise GOBI DUST 73 began at Fort Riley, Kansas, in April 1973 and will be completed shortly after the close of the fiscal year.

The Army-wide Training Literature Program for fiscal year 1973 contained requirements for approximately 700 new or revised publications involving items under the proponency of the Continental Army Command, the Combat Developments Command, the Army Materiel Command, and the Chief of Military History. Requests for publications were screened for validity and urgency, and priorities were established for printing and issue on an orderly basis.

There were a number of actions on training devices during this period. Development was completed on a laser tank gunnery device, an artillery unit trainer, an electronic countermeasure device, and a small arms retaliatory target system, and all became standard items of issue. Procurement was begun for a television trainer, and co-ordinated test plans and milestone schedules were established for an observed fire trainer, the M16A1 man-versus-man target engagement simulator, the field target screen and moving target screen, a vehicle engagement simulator, an M60 machine-gun laser, and a combat vehicle simulator.

Training ammunition allowances were realigned to insure that they satisfy requirements of the Army's decentralized training policy. Training allowances and training devices for the TOW, Shillelagh, Dragon, and Redeye systems were reviewed, and allowances for the Redeye were realigned by reducing missile allocations for advanced individual training in favor of increases in allocations for unit training. Because of limited supplies and funding constraints, approval authority for special allowances for realistic training was held at Headquarters, Department of the Army. The training portion of the Army's ammunition budget for fiscal

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year 1973 was reduced by $21 million by the Office of the Secretary of Defense, and will be reduced by $18.2 million in fiscal year 1974.

As the Vietnam War drew to a close, operational reports dwindled and were no longer necessary. On 1 November 1972 the Operational Reports-Lessons Learned (ORLL) requirement was suspended, and the unit history annual supplement replaced the ORLL.

The reduction in the size of the Army prompted ,some modifications in the Army school system and in training activities. These considerations coupled with basic national policy and international treaty decisions concerning chemical warfare led to the disestablishment on 24 June 1973 of the U.S. Army Chemical Center and School with a redistribution of some of its activities. The school's Explosive Ordnance Disposal Course, Technical Escort Course, and Chemical Accident/Incident Control Officer Course were transferred to the U.S. Army Missile and Munition Center School, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama. The Chemical Officer Basic courses, both resident and nonresident, were eliminated and a six-week Chemical-Biological-Radiological (CBR) Staff Officer Course was established at the U.S. Army Ordnance Center and School at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland. The Chemical Officer Advanced courses, resident and nonresident, were eliminated, and the instructional scope of the Ordnance Officer Advanced Course was modified to include CBR instruction; the Ordnance School also assumed responsibility for ten additional chemical-related courses formerly taught at the Chemical School.

With the student load for pilot training also declining from an all-time high of 6,887 in fiscal year 1969 to a projected level of about 1,500 in fiscal year 1974, consolidation of Army aviation training began in April 1973. Fort Wolters, Texas, will be closed and primary helicopter training will be transferred to the U.S. Army Aviation School at Fort Rucker, Alabama, which will also assume responsibility for AH-1G (Cobra) flight training conducted at Hunter Army Airfield, Georgia—an installation that will be placed in a caretaker status.

The male Officer Candidate Program was modified in March 1973 after a two-year test to determine the practicality of reducing the length of the course. As a result of the experiment, the Officer Candidate Course was reduced from twenty-three to fourteen weeks in length and redesignated the Branch Immaterial Officer Candidate Course. Graduates will immediately attend their Branch Basic Officer Course. Input to Officer Candidate School (OCS) was reduced, and only in-service applicants are accepted. The OCS program at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, was terminated in June 1973, leaving Fort Benning, Georgia, as the only installation to conduct male officer candidate courses.

The Army's Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) program, which supplies the larger percentage of new officers, continued to meet

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active Army and Reserve Component needs in a vastly improved atmosphere. Anti-ROTC incidents in fiscal year 1973 were 76 percent below the previous year.

A five-year decline in ROTC enrollments slowed considerably in fiscal year 1973 despite elimination of the draft and a switch in course status from required to elective in six institutions. Without the draft, ROTC units may expect ,a higher percentage of career-motivated cadets with improved retention rates.

Over-all minority enrollment for the 1971-1972 school year was 14 percent; 10.8 percent were blacks, and 3.2 percent represented other minorities. In the 1972-1973 school year, minority enrollment increased to 17.4 percent, with 13.7 percent black and 3.7 percent other minorities. In May 1972 the Army began to allow women to enroll in Army ROTC and 212 female students enrolled in ROTC courses at ten test institutions for the 1972-1973 school year; 20 women received four-year ROTC scholarships. Female scholarship cadets incur a four-year active duty obligation like their male counterparts.

In noncommissioned officer training, the three-level progressive NCO Education System (NCOES) moved forward in fiscal year 1973. Forty-one basic level service school courses of eight to twelve weeks' duration provide training in all career management fields. These courses prepare E-4 and E-5 personnel for the duty required at E-5, E-6, and E-7 levels. During fiscal year 1973, 11,530 students entered basic level courses. Advanced level courses, begun in the third quarter of fiscal year 1972, were fully implemented in fiscal year 1973; forty-three courses of eight to twelve weeks' duration provide training for E-6 and E-7 personnel in all career management fields to prepare them for duty in grades E-8 and E-9. About 4,400 students attended these classes in fiscal year 1973.

The senior level course of professional development in the military educational system for noncommissioned officers is the Sergeants Major Academy at Fort Bliss, Texas. The academy objective is to prepare selected E-8's as command sergeants major throughout the Army. The course prepares senior noncommissioned officers to help commanders solve leadership, human relations, and training problems; enhance senior NCO capabilities to develop and maintain discipline in the volunteer Army; increase knowledge in tactical and administrative operations of divisions; update knowledge of contemporary Army problems; provide an orientation on national and international affairs; improve interpersonal communication skills; and develop intellectual depth and analytical ability. Classes of twenty-two weeks' duration will be conducted twice annually. The first, of a hundred students, opened on 8 January 1973; later classes may reach a strength of two hundred. A Department of the Army board selects the students.

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A special course for training Province/District Senior Advisers was terminated in February 1973 when the last of these specialists were withdrawn from South Vietnam. Their number was reduced from 152 on 1 July 1972 to 63 in February when the program ended. The last advisers were withdrawn on 28 February 1973.

Systems

Since early 1969, when an over-all reassessment of ballistic missile defense (BMD) resulted in a substantially modified and carefully phased deployment concept with multiple objectives, BMD development and deployment programs have been reviewed annually to consider technical developments, the threat, and the diplomatic context including arms limitation negotiations. Activities in the diplomatic arena, particularly those which led to the August 1972 Senate ratification of the Antiballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty, coupled with BMD deployment constraints imposed by the Congress during legislation of the fiscal year 1973 DOD Authorization Bill, have influenced the fiscal year 1973 BMD-related programs and the programs for fiscal year 1974 and beyond.

Safeguard technical progress through fiscal year 1973 continued to be excellent. Virtually all hardware subsystems have been released to production. The software development continued on schedule. The final phase of system tests at Kwajalein Missile Range to support software development was continued. A total of 43 system tests were completed as of 30 June 1973; of these tests, 37 were successful, 2 were partially successful, and 4 were unsuccessful. Of the 15 tests conducted in fiscal year 1973, 13 were successful and 2 were unsuccessful.

The initial Strategic Arms Limitation (SAL) agreements will not necessarily limit the growth of the Soviet strategic threat. The Interim Offensive Agreement, which has a limited duration of five years, restricts the number of Soviet intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM's) and sea-launched ballistic missiles (SLBM's) launchers, but does not limit improvements in accuracy or development and deployment of Multiple Independently Targetable Re-entry Vehicles (MIRV's). The ABM Treaty limits each country to deployment of antiballistic missile defenses at two sites, but permits, with certain limitations, continued research and development of fixed land-based ABM systems. As a result of the deployment limitations, work at the Malmstrom Safeguard site was suspended on 27 May 1972 ;and terminated on 2 October 1972. Neither the Interim Offensive Agreement nor the ABM Treaty applies to the Peoples Republic of China, which is moving toward an offensive strategic ballistic missile capability. This threat and the possibility of an accidental or intentional ballistic missile launch from any source provides incentive for

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the United States to continue research and development on the technology of strategic defense systems.

Immediately following the signing of the ABM Treaty by President Nixon on 26 May 1972, the Secretary of Defense directed the Army to continue Safeguard deployment at the Grand Forks, North Dakota, site as planned; plan for deployment of an ABM defense of the National Command Authority (NCA), within the provisions of the treaty, on the fastest reasonable schedule; initiate planning to cancel the remainder of the twelve-site Safeguard program; and suspend all ABM programs which are prohibited by the treaty. In June 1972, the BMD portion of the fiscal year 1973 Department of Defense budget was amended to reflect the limitations established by the ABM Treaty.

Pursuant to instructions from the Secretary of the Army and the Chief of Staff, two studies were undertaken to evaluate the impact of the limitations of the ABM Treaty on ballistic missile defense deployment and development programs. These studies, the System Design Review (SDR) and the BMD Management Study, were conducted concurrently as separate activities.

The SDR, conducted by a task force under the direction of Major General George Mayo, Jr., was to analyze the design of Army BMD systems and related development programs to include deployment configurations, schedules, and objectives. The SDR was completed in October 1972; a number of recommendations were made in the areas of deployment objectives configurations, cost and deployment schedules, funding, and concepts of operations, maintenance, and base support. These were approved by the Secretary of the Army.

The BMD Management Study was prepared at the direction of the Secretary of the Army by Brigadier General Hal E. Hallgren. This study, completed in September 1972, was an over-all examination of the Army management of its ballistic missile defense programs and the impact of the ABM Treaty on these programs. Also taking expected funding constraints into account, the study group recommended several organizational alternatives for the management of BMD activities that called for the consolidation and streamlining of existing activities. Selected alternatives were approved in October 1972 and included in the January 1973 announcement, made by the Secretary of Defense, of the over-all Army reorganization.

The Army has reduced its BMD management structure, as a result of the ABM Treaty and the expressed congressional intent limiting Safeguard deployment to the Grand Forks site, and in line with approved recommendations and alternatives of the SDR and the BMD management studies. By the end of June 1973, personnel strengths in support of the Safeguard program had been reduced to about 45 percent of the

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manning level authorized prior to the signing of the ABM Treaty. Further reductions are planned in fiscal year 1974.

One of the recommendations common to both the SDR and the BMD management study was to provide logistics support to the limited Safeguard deployment by contract rather than a large dedicated government force. Adoption of this recommendation thus allowed the disestablishment of the Safeguard Logistics Command at Huntsville, Alabama, and the Safeguard Training Facility at Fort Bliss, Texas, and the change of the Safeguard Army Depot at Glasgow, Montana, to a government-owned and contractor-operated facility. These actions should lead to significant savings in operating cost and reductions in manpower requirements.

Safeguard deployment at the Grand Forks site proceeded on schedule. Beneficial occupancy of the two radar facilities was accomplished, and the installation and testing of tactical hardware was under way. "Power-On" in the Perimeter Acquisition Radar was achieved in June 1973. The scheduled equipment readiness date of the Grand Forks site remains October 1974.

The original budget request of $1.6'billion for the Safeguard program was based on a four-site defense of Minuteman, advanced preparation on an NCA defense site at Washington, D.C., and continuation of area defense research and development programs.

In June 1972, an amended budget request for $890.4 million was presented to the Congress to support the reduced deployment permitted by the ABM Treaty. This amended budget asked for authority to continue the deployment at the Grand Forks site, the advanced preparation for an NCA defense, and the production of those Minuteman system components that could be used in an NCA defense. The fiscal year 1973 DOD Authorization Act expressed congressional intent in the following words: "None of the funds authorized by this or any other Act may be obligated or expended for the purpose of continuing or initiating deployment of an antiballistic missile system at any site except Grand Forks AFB, Grand Forks, North Dakota." This act authorized continuation of deployment at the Grand Forks site but denied for the third consecutive year authority for advanced preparation of a site in defense of the NCA. It also denied the authority to continue production of hardware for any site except Grand Forks, thus causing the shutdown of Safeguard production lines.

Site defense, begun in 1971 as a prototype demonstration program under the direction of the Safeguard System Manager, therefore continued, protecting Minuteman against an advanced strategic ballistic missile threat that includes MIRV's, decoys, and other penetration aids. The Congress during its deliberation on the fiscal year 1972 Department of Defense budget request had recognized the need for this option to

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defend Minuteman and provided initial funds for the conduct of a prototype demonstration program. Congressional support, though not at the funding level requested, continued in fiscal year 1973.

Development of site defense hardware and software components proceeded on a schedule adjusted by fiscal year 1973 funding constraints, and progress was satisfactory. The majority of the radar design was completed and some hardware fabrication started. Design of the tactical software was under way. Fabrication and testing of major missile subsystem components has begun. Collection of target signature data has been initiated to aid discrimination and bulk filter design.

As a result of fiscal year 1972 limited funding, the pace of the site defense program was deliberately slowed. The basis for the original fiscal year 1973 budget request for $100.5 million was to make steady progress in the prototype demonstration program and begin construction of facilities at the Kwajalein Missile Range to support the demonstration program.

Decisions related to the strategic arms limitations agreement led to an increased request for Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation (RDTE) funds for the site defense program. The previous $80.1 million request was upped to $140.1 million. This increase would have provided for hardware and software development and test and demonstration in sufficient time for deployment before the expiration of the interim-offensive agreement.

As a result of final congressional actions and apportionments made by the Department of Defense, the budget for site defense was reduced to the amount of the original request of $100.5 million, which included $20.4 million in Military Construction, Army (MCA), funds.

In his initial budget presentation to Congress on 26 March 1973, the Secretary of Defense outlined the scope of the proposed fiscal year 1974 Ballistic Missile Defense program. The program called for $402 million to continue Safeguard deployment for the Grand Forks site; $170 million was included for the site defense program, continuation of the prototype demonstration program, and definition of the modifications needed to adapt the site defense system for the defense of the National Command Authority site. Funds for deployment of an NCA site were not included.

The recommended budget supported the comprehensive Safeguard and site defense programs within the constraints of the ABM Treaty. These programs would provide for the defense of retaliatory forces in the Grand Forks area; retain the advantages gained from installing, testing, and operating a deployed BMD system; lead to an economical, effective defense of the Minuteman if the threat could not be limited; begin program definition and planning for the defense of the NCA; and enhance the probability of success in follow-on SALT (Strategic Arms Limitation

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Talks) negotiations by maintaining the strength and flexibility of the negotiating position.

During fiscal year 1973, work continued on the Hawk air defense guided missile system. The Hawk is designed to provide defense, primarily for the field army, against low and medium altitude targets of slow and high speed. A new missile has been developed using the basic Hawk airframe, and other improvements include radar modification, made possible by recent technological advance, and an automatic data processor to accelerate reaction time. Developmental testing was completed in August 1972, and the Army's first improved Hawk battalion became operational in Germany in November 1972.

The Army's SAM-D surface-to-air missile will be the successor to the Hawk and the Hercules, and fiscal year 1973 was the first full year in the SAM-D engineering development program. The advanced development fire control equipment was readied for early flight tests, and design and fabrication began on the prototype missiles and fire control equipment. Based on a nuclear and antimissile capability study of the SAM-D, the Chief of Staff approved recommendations to delete research, development, and procurement funds for the nuclear warhead; retain design and development of the ancillary ground support and missile equipment; program the SAM-D for the continental United States; and begin research and development on a nonnuclear warhead.

Engineering development also proceeded on the hand-carried Stinger air defense system. The contractor conducted successful nonguided test flights, and developmental plans and schedules moved forward. Product improvements also continued on the Chaparral and Vulcan short-range air defense systems. Evaluations were completed on the British Rapier system and the French-German Roland system. The 1st Battalion, 3d Artillery (Vulcan), 101st Airborne Division, and the 1st Battalion, 67th Artillery (Chaparral/Vulcan), 9th Infantry Division, were activated during the year.

Improvements to the Pershing missile system were examined during the year, and a nonnuclear capability for the Lance was advanced with the successful firing of a nonnuclear round at White Sands Missile Range in December 1972. The first Lance foreign military sales case, about $40 million, was signed by Italy in November 1972. In June 1973, the Army was authorized to execute contract options with Germany and the United Kingdom for similar sales. The total amount for all sales cases was $184 million.

The first procurement of the Forward Area Alerting Radar was completed and initial deployment began in fiscal year 1973. The system has been favorably received by the Chaparral/Vulcan battalions.

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The Army convened the Short Range Air Defense (SHORAD) Study Group in April 1973 to re-evaluate the air attack threat to the army in the field, determine SHORAD system capabilities required to complement SAM-D, and recommend a development and procurement program for achieving the required SHORAD capabilities to include force levels and funding estimates. As the year closed, the study group had completed its computer simulations and war gaming and was developing its final report.

The Army in fiscal year 1973 established a Positioning and Navigation System Task Force to determine Army requirements in this field in the 1980s, appraise Army participation in the Defense Navigation Satellite Development Program (DNSDP), and make recommendations concerning Army equipment requirements for a Defense Navigation Satellite System. At the close of the year, the task force was developing data for a joint proposal for the DNSDP, as requested by the Deputy Secretary of Defense.

In aviation systems there were numerous developments during fiscal year 1973. A helicopter-launched missile requirement was approved on 29 December 1972 for an air-to-ground, laser-guided missile capable of defeating individual targets such as tanks before the target takes action. As visualized, the target area would be illuminated by a laser designator located on the ground or on another aircraft, and the attacking aircraft would be able to take evasive action or depart the area after firing. This system, called Hellfire, includes a missile, fire control and integration equipment, and training and support equipment. Concept formulation for Hellfire was funded, and tests on its military potential were completed.

In August 1972 the Army canceled the Cheyenne helicopter program and started to develop an advanced attack helicopter. Cost and performance characteristics were defined, and, with the approval of the Deputy Secretary of Defense, the Army on 15 November 1972 invited industry to submit proposals for production prototypes. Bell and Hughes helicopter companies were selected to produce the prototypes.

The heavy-lift helicopter program continued through the advanced technology component stage to the development of flight control, cargo handling, and rotor drive systems that would raise the payload from 10 to 12 tons to 22.5 tons. In January 1973 a contract was signed with the Boeing Vertol Company to build a single prototype to demonstrate these components in a flying helicopter. The first flight is scheduled for August 1975.

In the period from March through May 1972, a joint attack helicopter instrumented evaluation was conducted in Germany by U.S., German, and Canadian military elements. AH-1 G attack helicopters and OH-58 observation helicopters were pitted against Bundeswehr

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Leopard tanks and U.S. Vulcan air defense units. Using "nap-of-the-earth" tactics, the OH-58's found the tanks and directed the AH-1G's to the targets. Laser beams were used to simulate firings of TOW antiarmor and antiaircraft weapons; laser receivers on the helicopters and ground vehicles recorded hits. A laser hit triggered a smoke grenade on the victim vehicle. Sixty trials were conducted with the following results: 10 AH-1G's and 4 OH-58's destroyed by antiaircraft fire and 167 tanks and 29 Vulcans destroyed by AH-1G's. These impressive results confirmed that a missile-equipped helicopter using nap-of-the-earth tactics and taking advantage of speed, maneuverability, cover, and concealment can achieve a high-kill ratio and survive on a high-threat battlefield.

Early in the fiscal year the Army and the Air Force simultaneously but separately began to procure a light, twin-engine, fixed-wing aircraft of the V-21 F type. This was modified during budget hearings when the Congress, noting the similarity in the projects, directed that the procurement be combined in a single solicitation. The Office of the Secretary of Defense assigned the leading role to the Army, and the services developed specifications jointly. In October 1972 the Army sought proposals from industry. Of the four responses received, two were for turboprop and two for turbofan. The latter was recommended by a source selection board. When difficulties arose over the source selection process, specifications, and congressional understandings concerning the project, the Secretary of the Army canceled the joint procurement effort. At the end of the year, the services were awaiting congressional action on a request for unilateral service procurement.

In July 1972 the Army was authorized to equip the AH-1G Cobra helicopter with the TOW missile. The new aerial antiarmor craft will be designated the AH-1Q. Prototype aircraft were flown and test-firings were conducted successfully at Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona. Until production aircraft are available in fiscal year 1975, the Army will modify 101 AH-1 G's in fiscal year 1974 by arming them with the TOW, and another 189 will be modified in fiscal year 1975.

The TOW antitank missile system had been mounted on two UH-1 helicopters and deployed to Vietnam in April 1972. There were 133 combat firings during the period from 30 April 1972 to 14 October 1972. Of the 107 targets hit, there were 26 confirmed tank kills, 3 suspected tank kills, 15 wheeled vehicles destroyed, and 33 other point targets hit. The Army continued to review its requirements for wheeled vehicles. The so-called WHEELS Study has reduced the Army's requirement by about 29 percent, or 110,000 vehicles. It was found that commercial vehicles could meet a large number of military needs, and vehicles of commercial design were increased from 20 to 43 percent of the fleet. Annual

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savings in acquisition, operation and maintenance, and support costs are estimated to be about $300 million.

In August 1972 the task force dealing with the Army's main battle tank submitted a final report that proposed a new Army tank, the XM1. Industry was asked to submit proposals, and on 28 June 1973 Chrysler and General Motors were awarded contracts to provide prototypes. One contractor will be selected for full-scale engineering development following ;a 34-month validation phase.

On 11 September 1972, in response to a request from the U.S. Army Tank Automotive Command, the Chrysler Corporation, Food Machinery Corporation, and Pacific Car and Foundry Corporation submitted proposals for a mechanized infantry combat vehicle. Following technical evaluation of the proposals, Food Machinery Corporation was awarded a contract for $29.2 million to perform—on a cost-plus-incentive-fee basis—the engineering development for the vehicle. Two rigs will be developed and fabricated for component testing; 13 engineering prototypes will be constructed (12 to be used in development/operational test) , and 4 second-generation prototypes will be produced, along with training devices.

The armored reconnaissance scout vehicle (XM800) project also advanced during the year. On 22 May 1972 the Food Machinery Corporation and Lockheed Missiles and Space Company had been awarded contracts respectively for design and fabrication of 4-tracked and 4-wheeled prototype versions. As the year closed, both contractors had their first vehicle in operation and being tested. The additional vehicles will be delivered to the Army in November 1973 for competitive testing.

The success of the wheeled vehicles (WHEELS) study suggested the need for a similar one on tactical radios. In January 1973 a Special Analysis of Net Radios (SPANNER) study group was established to review tactical net radio and related equipment requirements. Reductions in procurement were recommended based on a revision of the logistical factors used to compute authorized acquisition objectives. In a coming phase the group will examine Army tables of authorization and equipment to see where fundamental reductions might be made in net radio authorization.

Chemical and Biological Matters

On 10 April 1972, the United States signed the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons, and on their Destruction. The convention provides that the parties undertake not to develop, produce, stockpile, acquire, or retain biological agents or toxins, of types and

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in quantities that have no justification for peaceful purposes, as well as weapons, equipment, and means of delivery designed to use such agents for hostile purposes or in armed conflict. This convention codified for the international community of states party to the treaty the unilateral actions previously taken by the United States. It is the first international agreement since World War II to provide for the actual elimination of an entire class of weapons from the arsenals of nations. To enter into force the convention must be ratified by twenty-two countries, including the United States, the Soviet Union, and the United Kingdom. By 30 June 1973, the requisite number of countries had signed the treaty, but the United States, the Soviet Union, and the United Kingdom had not yet completed ratification procedures. The treaty was pending in the U.S. Senate.

Destruction of biological and toxin stocks in this country was completed by the end of 1972. Disposal took place at the Pine Bluff Arsenal, Arkansas. The former biological warfare facility there is now a new national center for research on the adverse effects of chemical substances on man's environment. The former Army biological research facility at Fort Detrick, Maryland, is a center for cancer research.

Article IX of the convention reaffirms the prohibition of chemical weapons and calls for negotiations to reach an early agreement on measures to eliminate such weapons.

In addition to the disposal of biological agents and weapons at Pine Bluff, anticrop biological agents held at Beale Air Force Base, California, Rocky Mountain Arsenal, Colorado, and at Fort Detrick, Maryland, were disposed of without incident.

In connection with disposal operations, the Army requested a four-year, Navy-conducted surveillance program to ascertain whether there were any ecological problems connected with the disposal at sea in August 1970 (Operation Chase) of obsolete chemical munitions. Three surveys of the disposal site have been made by the U.S. Navy, the last being made in November 1972. No contamination of the water surrounding the hulk was found. There was no evidence to indicate that any noticeable change to sea-bottom life has occurred as a result of the disposal.

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