Migration of technology between US Army aviation and ground systems

In October 1999, at the Annual convention of the Association of the United States Army (AUSA), the Chief of Staff of the Army unveiled his vision to transform the US Army into a smaller and lighter, yet more lethal and deployable force. Some of the implied objectives to achieve this goal are to create systems that utilize common components, reduce the size and weight of components, standardize configurations, enhance flexibility and reduce the power required to operate these systems. The Project Office for Tactical Operation Centers/Air and Missile Defense Command and Control System (PM TOCs/AMDCCS) established two objectives in support of the Chief's vision: 1) create a set of common equipment between air and ground systems; and 2) migrate the best of the existing technologies, or variants of same, between air and ground platforms. Implications of this strategy are obvious, tactical ground platforms and operations centers need to maintain functionality for future systems but must do so with smaller, lighter and more power efficient systems. At the same time, airborne equipment must be functionally identical to ground equipment to enable soldiers to move seamlessly between ground and airborne operations.