Stars and Stripes: Army tanks, other ground combat weapons in danger of falling behind

According to a new article from Stars and Stripes, a recent Congressional Research Service report says that the US Army’s primary ground combat weapons systems are growing outdated and being surpassed in some cases by those of other countries.

Excerpt:

The tanks, infantry-fighting vehicles, self-propelled howitzer cannons and multiple-launch rocket systems fielded by America’s front-line combat soldiers were developed in the 1970s and first fielded in the 1980s, and the Army does not have any active programs to replace them, according to the Jan. 18 report titled, “Selected Foreign Counterparts of U.S. Army Ground Combat Systems and Implications for Combat Operations and Modernization.” Those U.S. weapons have been routinely upgraded with new technology, but other nations – including rivals Russia and China – have developed entirely new systems in recent years.

Some of those systems have “outpaced” American military technology, the report added.

The Army has faced steep budget cuts in recent years mandated by the Budget Control Act of 2011, forcing the service to focus on combat readiness over modernizing its weapons. The service’s top general, Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, has said the Army will continue its focus on readiness in 2017, though it would make a “major effort” to modernize its systems.

Read the full article here.