army looks to save its 'future'

from danger room: With budget tights and tolerance for high-price technology programs growing thin, the Army today is announcing plans to revamp its massive $200 billion modernization effort, called the Future Combat Systems. Like the program itself, the changes are confusing, but appear to consist of plans to accelerate those technologies the Army thinks are most needed in the field and are moving along quickly, like drones, while pushing back those weapons more suited for major military conflict. "Army officials say the revisions could push the program's total price tag even higher, lifting the fortunes of the effort's two main contractors, Boeing Co. and SAIC Inc.," the Wall Street Journal reports... The move is, at least in part, designed to address concerns being raised in Congress about the megalith program, which links together massive amounts of software and hardware. A House committee wants to slice some $200 milllion from the request to fund FCS. That may sound like a lot, but the total request for FCS for fiscal 2009 is about $3.6 billion.