US Army, Air Force told to join forces on FCA, Warrior

US Army, Air Force told to join forces on FCA, Warrior

By Joshua Kucera JDW Staff Reporter
Washington, DC

The US Department of Defense (DoD) has ordered the US Army and US Air Force to work together on two new programmes that blur the traditional borders between the services.

DoD senior acquisition official Kenneth Krieg instructed the two services to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on co-operating on the Future Cargo Aircraft (FCA) and the Warrior, a large unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).

The MoU between the services would require the two sides to work together and within 90 days produce proposals for co-operation on both the Warrior and FCA programmes.

It is not yet clear what implications this would have for either programme. Army officials said that they do not expect the requirements for the FCA to change even if the air force gets involved. The discussion may be more about who uses the aircraft and how, said Brigadier General Stephen Mundt, the director of the deputy chief of staff’s aviation task force. “At the end of the day we’re going to come up with an aircraft that’s similar – that’s my prediction,” he said.

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