All told, the Army’s investing $57 billion in modernization over five years — but it wants to take time to test new technologies before it commits to them.

Good news: That’s more money than the Army thought it could get for its top priorities. Bad news: We won’t see most of it this year.

Alarming headlines to the contrary, the US Army isn’t building robotic “killing machines.” What they really want artificial intelligence to do in combat is much more interesting.

Will high-tech hardware developed to protect aircraft translate to the mud and dust of ground combat?

Building physical things is not SAIC’s, well, thing. But physically building stuff has become less important and less profitable than integrating all the complex high-tech components and making sure they work together.

SAIC not a traditional heavy-metal manufacturer and it shouldn’t be judged like one, CEO Tony Moraco and COO Nazzic Keene told me.

Last month, the Army committed to buying an initial brigade’s-worth of the Iron Fist Active Protection System for the M2 Bradley. Meanwhile, with Tuesday morning’s announcement, the US is spending over $200 million to install the rival Trophy APS on not only Army but Marine Corps M1 Abrams tanks.

The Army’s said it wants 504 of the MPF light tanks. But analyst Byron Callan is betting that either the Marine Corps or foreign buyers (or both) add another 106, bringing the total to 610 machines.

Yes, MPF is much lighter and less heavily armored than the M1 Abrams or even Russian tanks like the T-90. But MPF is going to light infantry units that currently have no armored vehicles at all, just a handful of Humvees, towed M777 howitzers, and whatever weapons the men can carry on their backs.

WASHINGTON: Seeking to stop Russian-made anti-tank missiles, the US Army will buy Israel’s Iron Fist Active Protection System for a brigade of its M2 Bradley armored vehicles, Breaking Defense has learned. The decision comes after weeks of confusing statements by Army officials and months of delays fitting the high-tech active protection on a Cold War-vintage… Keep reading →