28 Aug 03. The U.S. Army and its Lead System Integrator (LSI) team of Boeing (NYSE: BA – News) and SAIC today completed a precedent-setting process designed to bring the “best of industry” to the U.S. Army’s Future Combat Systems (FCS) program. The three partners announced today bring the number selected to join the team since July 10 to a total of 21. These companies have identified more than 100 additional firms that will contribute to the success of FCS, the Army’s key transformational program.

The selection process conducted by the LSI included the Army and members of other government agencies in full compliance with the Army acquisition- authority approved source selection plan. That plan defined government participation and specific protections to ensure the evaluation process was equitable and would produce a standard-setting FCS team.

“From the beginning of our involvement with FCCS, we aimed at assembling an industry team composed of the best in the business,” said Dennis Muilenburg, vice president and FCS program manager for Boeing. “We used an innovative and very efficient approach to put our FCS One Team together, entirely in keeping with the goals we share with the Army.” The FCS One Team is composed of the representatives of the government, the LSI and industry partners.

“Forming the One Team in accordance with our overarching strategy and top-level tenets will enable our unencumbered reach into the very best talent industry has to offer. I am more encouraged than ever,” said Brigadier General Donald Schenk, program manager for Future Combat
Systems.

“We are pleased to have completed the source selection and can now bring the full team together and execute the program,” said John Gully, SAIC vice president and FCS deputy program manager. “The process was demanding and rigorous for everyone concerned but the result is a terrific team to work with the Army in developing FCS.”

On May 14, the Defense Acquisition Board approved the FCS program’s entrance into the System Development and Demonstration (SDD) phase. The SDD phase takes the program into Initial Production and Initial Operational Capability in the latter part of this decade. The SDD contract is valued at $14.9 billion, approximately two-thirds of which is expected to flow through to subcontractor partners. As the LSI team, Boeing and SAIC are responsible for total systems integration, as well as acting in a role similar to a “general contractor.” The LSI team manages the identification, selection and procurement of the major systems and subsystems.