10 July 03. The Army Lead System Integrator (LSI) team of Boeing (NYSE: BA – News) and Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) announced the selection of 15 new partners to join the U.S. Army Future Combat Systems (FCS) program.

The 15 new partners will lead teams of approximately 70 companies formed to play key system integration roles on the nearly $15bn FCS development effort.

Following a rigorous review process and working in cooperation with the Army, the Boeing-SAIC Lead Systems Integrator team tapped a wide range of companies and organizations to provide 14 major procurements for this vital transformation program. The LSI team will now begin negotiations to formalize contracts with the newly named FCS partners. Selection of additional partners for the remaining work packages will be announced later this summer following completion of the evaluation process.

“As the lead system integrator on a program of the magnitude and importance of Future Combat Systems, it is critical for us to identify and team with the top domain experts,” said Dennis Muilenburg, vice president and FCS program manager for Boeing. “Assembling the best of industry is at the heart of the LSI concept. We are focused on providing the best solutions to help the Army address the challenges it will face for decades to come.”

From the U.S. Army’s perspective, “The FCS LSI is putting together a great team that brings diversity, talent and experience,” said Major General Joseph Yakovac, Program Executive Officer for Ground Combat Systems.

“A key strength of the Lead Systems Integrator approach is that it gives the customer a new way to assemble its team,” said John Gully, deputy FCS
program manager, SAIC. “We competitively selected industry-leading partners to develop systems based on a system of systems architecture, which we derived from the Army’s Requirements Document.”

Significant job opportunities and growth on FCS are expected, especially in systems engineering, software, electrical, and mechanical/structural engineering for Boeing and industry partners throughout the country.