The above chart compares our fiscal year 1968 request with the present fiscal year 1967 program. You will note that last year's request was $1.518 billion with an appropriation of $1.528 billion. To the appropriation has been added nearly $28 million from the OSD Emergency Fund and the $40 million in the fiscal year 1967 supplemental appropriation request. All of the emergency funds received have been for southeast Asia requirements, as is the $40 million fiscal year 1967 supplemental. 1967 PROGRAM FUNDING For fiscal year 1968 we now request your approval of a program of $1.571 billion which will require new obligational authority of $1.539 billion. The difference is to be provided by carrying forward $32 million of fiscal year 1967 and prior year unobligated balances. The development process for Army materiel is closely coordinated with the operational requirements of the Army. The nature of the threat the Army faces and the operational characteristics of material necessary to meet the threat determine the focus of the R.D.T. & E. program. OPERATIONAL CAPABILITY OBJECTIVES Before discussing individual development projects I would like to remind you of some of the more important operational capability objectives for which the solutions are considered to be technically feasible. INTELLIGENCE ACQUISITION AND DISEMINATION Target location and identification and battle area surveillance problems have become more demanding and complex with the advent of nuclear weapons with resulting increases in dispersion as well as increased ranges of weapons and improved mobility. OPERATIONS UNDER CONDITIONS OF REDUCED VISIBILITY Significant improvement in the capability to conduct the full range of combat activity under all conditions of reduced visibility will provide a distinct advantage in the effective application of improved firepower and mobility. IMPROVED TACTICAL GROUND MOBILITY Improvements in firepower must be complemented by improvements in tactical ground mobility to effectively exploit maneuver as a function of land combat over increased distances and a variety of terrain conditions. ALL-PURPOSE AND ALL-WEATHER AIR MOBILITY The advantages of air tactical mobility have been demonstrated over and over again in Vietnam. The helicopter has made possible a divisional operational area much larger than if the same troops were required to move by surface means. Arming the helicopter has provided us with unequaled flexibility in the application of firepower, but the present armed helicopters fall short of what technology can provide to furnish sufficient support to air mobile operations both in terms of speed and firepower. AIR DEFENSE For The field army of today is vulnerable to air attack. The decision to discontinue the MAULER program has caused a delay in the deployment of field army forward area air defense weapons. the present, we must depend on HAWK, NIKE HERCULES and, soon, REDEYE to provide forward area and theater air defense. Interim measures such as the VULCAN/CHAPARRAL are under development for the forward area air defense mission. The SAM-D will follow as a replacement for the HAWK and NIKE HERCULES. ANTI-ARMOR CAPABILITY The large numbers of improved armored vehicles in the hands of potential enemy forces demand that we take effective countermeasures. The development of highly effective ground-launched antitank weapon systems such as SHILLELAGH, TOW, and MAAW has provided or will provide the defensive capability we vitally need. WEAPONS ACCURACY, FLEXIBILITY AND LETHALITY Increased mobility and dispersion have generated demands for lighter, improved, ground weapons systems with greater range and accuracy capable of delivering a variety of more lethal ordnances in a sophisticated countermeasures environment. LOGISTICS All RDTE activities which contribute to improved performance, increased reliability and reduced maintenance enhance the overall logistics posture of the Army. There is a constant effort to develop simpler, sturdier, more reliable and economical weapons and equipment. Improvements in these areas, even if minor, can result in substantial increases in effectiveness because the resultant savings in money, time, and manpower are repeated over and over again in the continuing operation of the logistics system. IMPROVED CB DEFENSE We would be less than prudent if we failed to pursue development of our defensive capabilities in the CB field. IMPROVED, SECURE COMMUNICATION The future battlefield will be characterized by an increased tempo of operations over widely dispersed areas and will have a complex electromagnetic environment. These conditions demand improved, secure communications and the application of new techniques and concepts. NUCLEAR BATTLEFIELD OPERATIONS The Army must improve the capability of our men and materiel to survive the effects of nuclear weapons. Our nuclear deterrent is no deterrent at all unless we are fully prepared to function in that difficult environment should it become necessary. AUTOMATIC DATA PROCESSING CAPABILITY The conduct of modern warfare is an exceedingly complex and demanding task for the field commander. The last capability I wish to mention, automatic data processing, will provide the Army with an automatic data processing capability to aid the field commander in the control and coordination of the forces for which he is responsible and in the most efficient application of his combat power. Proposed projects are evaluated against these requirements and the answer to the question of whether the projected action will contribute to the satisfaction of an operational requirement is the basic criterion for the undertaking or rejection of a project. (A chart on the Army R. and D. program follows:) ARMY R&D PROGRAM NATIONAL PROGRAMS The RDTE authorization and budget request can be viewed from the standpoint of program content. As this chart above shows, the national programs, programs that are essentially Defense-wide in nature, are receiving 39 percent of the total RDTE budget. The largest of these programs is NIKE X and its associated test site at Kwajalein. National programs also include the White Sands Missile Range, the ground environment elements of the DOD communications satellite program and Project DESERET, 19.3 percent provides for the scientific research and the development of technology directed toward future systems and 7.7 percent is devoted to testing and facility operations. This leaves 34 percent available for Army development programs. This is the category where the bulk of our future hard ware rests. NIKE X SYSTEM Before proceeding with the individual RDTE busget programs I will describe three of the national programs, the NIKE X, activities at Kwajalein Test Site and White Sands Missile Range. The development of the NIKE X system is continuing satisfactorily and is on schedule. It is imperative that the development of NIKE Š continue as one of the Nation's highest priority programs, $443.3 million are requested for fiscal year 1968 to continue the development effort. Here are some highlights of recent development work on NIKE X and at Kwajalein and White Sands. SPRINT MISSILE A The SPRINT missile, one of the NIKE X system's interceptors, is propelled by a gas driven piston from its underground silo. fraction of a second after clearing the top of the silo, the first stage motor is ignited. The SPRINT can travel 1 mile in the time it takes your heart to beat twice. NIKE X RADAR ENGINEERING DEVELOPMENT The engineering development of NIKE X radars has advanced to the point where the emphasis has shifted from the drawing board to the fabrication and testing of hardware. Radar beam forming and beam steering equipment for the tactical multifunction array radar, or TACMAR, is being fabricated and assembled for testing prior to shipment to Kwajalein Test Site. The tactical prototype of the TACMAR will be constructed and tested at Kwajalein. Fabrication and testing of highpower amplifier tubes to be used in the transmitter of the missile site radar has been started. Two amplifier tubes will be used in parallel to provide the high power required in the transmitter. A scale model of the pattern test mount was constructed to study equipment packaging design. In the tactical configuration the antenna array will be fixed in a permanent structure. It is rotatable in this configuration only for testing purposes. The radar antenna array will contain 5,000 elements. The MSR antenna system will be pattern tested as a complete unit by the manufacturer prior to ship ment to Meck Island in the Kwajalein Atoll. The pattern test mount is under construction at the manufacturer's test-range site. In addition to this activity a number of high powered microwave components have been tested with satisfactory results. SPARTAN MISSILE In September 1966, a second stage static test firing of the SPARTAN missile was satisfactorily conducted at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama. The newly designed SPARTAN (formerly identified as the ZEUS DM15 X-2) provides the NIKE X system with a capability to intercept targets at greater ranges, higher altitudes and to carry a more lethal warhead than the earlier ZEUS missile which repeatedly demonstrated the capability to intercept live ICBM-type targets over the Pacific Missile Range. The Army continues to operate the national missile ranges at Kwajalein Test Site and White Sands, N. Mex. KWAJALEIN RANGE SUPPort for BALLISTIC MISSILE REENTRY MEASUREMENTS PROGRAMS Activities at Kwajalein, some 4,300 miles southwest of Los Angeles, are on the increase. A significant portion of the current mission of KTS involves range support to Advanced Research Projects Agency for its ballistic missile reentry measurements programs. Kwajalein also serves as a downrange impact area for scoring of ICBM's launched from Vandenberg. WHITE SANDS MISSILE RANGE Improved instrumentation and the ability of the White Sands Missile Range to support offrange launches has greatly increased the capability to support an increased variety of missile and space programs. For example, the Air Force ATHENA program, which involves firings from Green River, Utah, 471 miles north of White Sands, is one of the range's largest users. These tests are part of the advanced ballistic reentry system. Its mission-to test the behavior of missiles and ground radars during the reentry phase of flight. Also launched from offrange sites into White Sands Missile Range is the Army's PERSHING missile. In addition to operational test firings, annual service practice by troop units stationed in Europe, including German units, is expected to continue. Developmental testing continues on the NIKE X multifunction array radar at White Sands. Technological advances in weaponry continue. This requires commensurate advances in the safety and flight measurement capabilities of ground support equipment. The Army will continue to support the missile and space programs of all Government agencies. Examples of past developmental programs include the Navy's TALOS missile, the Air Force's FALCON, and the Army's NIKE-HERCULES, HAWK, and ZEUS. BUDGET PROGRAMS The remaining projects will be discussed in the context of their budget programs. |