will contain a laser range finder and a day/night sight. The weapon, as with the OICW, will be capable of firing both kinetic-energy and bursting munitions.
• Objective Sniper Weapon (OSW): Also to be replaced in future would be the U.S. Army’s series of sniper rifles. The OSW would serve this purpose and greatly increase effectiveness against personnel and materiel targets at significantly increased range.
• Integrated Sight Module (ISM): The ISM will combine an advanced thermal viewer with a digital compass, a “death dot” infrared laser aiming light, and a mini-laser range finder.
• Advanced Image Intensifier (AI2): Night-vision goggles with sharper resolution, a wider field of view, and “integrated HUD symbology.”
• Combat Identification for the Dismounted Soldier (CIDS): One of the lessons of Desert Storm was that ground casualties from “friendly fire” in mobile warfare can now be as heavy as those inflicted by the enemy, but far more demoralizing and politically unacceptable. The modern infantryman needs an idiot-proof gadget that will shout
• In-Stride Mine Avoidance System (IMAS): Land mines are weapons that wait, one of the nastiest scourges of the 20th century. Mines planted back in the First World War still kill or maim a few unlucky French and Belgians every year, and vast tracts of war-torn lands like Angola, Cambodia, and Afghanistan will be uninhabitable for decades thanks to the presence of millions of modern, hard-to-detect antipersonnel mines. Mine
• RAH-66 Comanche Helicopter: Now we come to the biggest of the big. In terms of firepower and capability, the Comanche will perhaps add the biggest punch (with the possible exception of the now-canceled AGS) to the Army’s power. If one were to compare the life of this helicopter program to anything, it would probably be a roller-coaster ride. The ups and downs of this formidable (and expensive!) helicopter are many. The original plan was to purchase 5,000 of these advanced helicopters. By 1987, that number had been reduced to 2,096, and in 1990 the requested number was again reduced to 1,292.
In 1991, a joint team made up of the Boeing and Sikorsky helicopter companies beat out a Bell/McDonnell Douglas team to be awarded the contract for the experimental version of the Comanche, known as the YRAH-66. Unfortunately, in late 1994, the Pentagon terminated production of the Boeing-Sikorsky Comanche program. Instead DoD decided to build just two pre-production prototypes and continue engine and equipment development.
The Army and the Comanche team then went into full gear to save their program. In early 1995, the Army succeeded in reviving the program, and as of now, the procurement plans call for six Early Operational Capability (EOC) RAH-66s, equipped with only reconnaissance systems (no armament). After several years of in-field testing, assuming all is successful, the Comanche will begin low-rate production, and even-tually full-rate production. Initial operational capability for the RAH-66 currently looks to be about the year 2006.
The entire cost of the Comanche program has been estimated to total around $34 billion. What exactly does the Army get for that amount of money? The answer is: the most advanced and deadly helicopter in the world.
The armament will be composed of a three-barreled 20mm cannon in an under-nose turret. Side-opening weapons bay doors will be used to conceal the internal armament and help to keep Comanche stealthy. Internally, the RAH-66 can carry up to six Hellfire air-to-surface missiles or twelve Stinger air-to-air missiles (or a combination of both). For additional weapons carriage, the Comanche can sacrifice some of its stealth for missiles, and carry four more Hellfires or eight more Stingers from stub-fitted wings. Auxiliary fuel tanks can also be carried to dramatically increase deployment range.
The avionics systems carried by Comanche are equally as impressive as the armament package. All major communications systems used by the RAH-66 will be jam-resistant, and the aircraft will have an airborne target- handover system, GPS, and a radar altimeter. The fire control and navigation systems, however, are what takes the Comanche into a world of its own. Consisting of a night-vision system and a helmet-mounted display, the integrated cockpit will have a second-generation FLIR targeting system, digital map displays, and a host of multi-functional displays which will help the crew examine information on fuel status, weapons remaining, and communications systems. To top this all off, all Comanche helicopters will be capable of carrying a miniaturized version of the Longbow radar, although current plans call for only about a third of the fleet to actually be equipped with it.
• Line-Of-Sight Antitank (LOSAT) Missile: LOSAT is the second major Army program which will have a profound impact on the XVIII Airborne Corps and the 82nd Airborne Division in particular. This missile system is a hit-to-kill weapon, designed to provide a high volume of extremely lethal kinetic-energy missile fire against heavily armored units such as tanks at ranges exceeding that of a main tank gun. The missile system itself, for which Loral Vought (also now part of Lockheed Martin) Systems of Dallas is the prime contractor, consists of four Kinetic Energy Missiles (KEMs) and their fire-control system, integrated into a Hummer chassis. The missile, when launched from its pod, begins maneuvering immediately. It is guided internally along the flight path and updated through the fire-control system aboard the launch vehicle. This continues until the missile strikes its target. As a result of tests conducted involving the firing of nearly twenty KEMs, it was determined that the missiles have a top speed in excess of 4,875 fps/1,486 mps. The missile will penetrate all known and projected MBTs, and can be used for engaging other targets as well, such as low-flying aircraft, helicopters, and bunkers.
Whether or not all of these systems will ever be fielded is anyone’s guess right now. Already, numerous other modernization programs like AGS and the liquid propellant gun for the new Crusader self-propelled howitzer have been killed by the budget ax. Whatever makes it into service, though, will have to be light and tough enough to stand up to the toughest battlefields on earth. The ones trod only by infantrymen.
The Air Force Contribution
Airborne Warfare: The Air Force Legacy
Within the U.S. Air Force (USAF), there is a class structure not unlike that of the other services. Ever since President Harry Truman signed the enabling legislation back in 1947, the USAF’s “kings of the skies” have come from the fighter and bomber communities. The internal USAF bias against those who do not kill people with their aircraft has meant that the careers of non-fighter and bomber aircrews rarely reach beyond the rank of brigadier general. Perhaps the armed flying jobs seem sexier or more powerful than the jobs of those who fly the supporting missions. Whatever the reasons, wearing the Air Force uniform and not shooting down enemy planes or nuking America’s enemies has usually meant never rising to the top jobs within the USAF.
