FUTURE COMBAT.

The Washington Post had a nice overview of the Army's Future Combat Systems on Friday:

In the Army's vision, the war of the future is increasingly combat by mouse clicks. It's as networked as the Internet, as mobile as a cellphone, as intuitive as a video game. The Army has a name for this vision: Future Combat Systems, or FCS. The project involves creating a family of 14 weapons, drones, robots, sensors and hybrid-electric combat vehicles connected by a wireless network. It has turned into the most ambitious modernization of the Army since World War II and the most expensive Army weapons program ever, military officials say.

The article highlights a few problems, including the technical difficulties (a lot of the technologies are new, and some aren't proving compatible with the requirement of having a light, mobile force), the difficulties associated with developing a revolutionary combat system while fighting a war, and cost overruns (which are exacerbated by the requirements of Iraq and Afghanistan).