Quote:The U.S. Army due to budget cuts is considering scaling back, delaying or even canceling major modernization programs, from the Ground Combat Vehicle to the Armed Aerial Scout helicopter to the battlefield communications network, officials said.

A few hundred acquisition programs, from the biggest to the smallest, have already been negatively affected by the automatic, across-the-board reductions, known as sequestration, as well as the recent government shutdown and the stop-gap funding measure known as a continuing resolution, according to Army Secretary John McHugh.

“I find it difficult to envision any significant number of our developmental initiatives that won’t be affected,” he said during a press conference at the first day of the annual Association of the United States Army conference. “Ground Combat Vehicle — name your favorite acquisition developmental program, it’ll probably be affected.”


His comments were echoed by Army Chief of Staff Gen. Raymond Odierno. The Army needs to invest in numerous weapons systems, including the Humvee replacement known as the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle, or JLTV, the Bradley replacement known the Ground Combat Vehicle, helicopters such as the AH-64 Apache, UH-60 Black Hawk and the CH-47 Chinook, as well as the battlefield network, said Odierno, who spoke alongside McHugh at the briefing.

“We need all of that,” he said. “We can’t afford all of that.”
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