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Army asks to start retiring M113, Fox vehicles

The Army plans to retire the Fox reconnaissance vehicle and M113 Armored Personnel Carrier, replacing them with Stryker and Bradley fighting vehicles, service documents say.

The 111 20-ton Fox vehicles in the fleet, which will reach the end of their useful life by 2012, will be replaced by the Stryker Nuclear Biological, Chemical and Reconnaissance Vehicle, according to a June PowerPoint presentation titled “PDM II Combat and Tactical Vehicle Strategy.”

PDM stands for program decision memorandum, documents designed to plan budgets and strategy for acquisition programs. A copy was obtained by Defense News, a sister publication of Army Times.

The 6,000 M113s are “not suitable for an era of persistent conflict” due to “survivability shortfalls and space, power, weight constraints.”

The documents refer to a “unit burden” calculus to measure a vehicle’s ability to sustain and survive threats and rigorous terrain on the battlefield. “All alternatives [referring to Bradley, Stryker, JLTV, FCS vehicles] have better reliability than the M113,” the documents say.

The retirements of the Fox and M113 will begin immediately, if the Army’s plan is approved by Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England and the Pentagon comptroller after it is presented.

“By 1 Aug., 2008, the director PA & E will evaluate the expected costs and benefits of the proposed strategy and of alternative strategies,” the PDM said.

The M113s in 15 heavy brigade combat teams would be replaced with 1,455 Strykers and 240 Bradleys, while the ones in Echelons Above Brigade, units higher than brigade combat teams such as the division or corps level, will be replaced with 2,471 Strykers, the PDM says.

Retiring the M113s will save the Army at least $691 million through 2030 in operational and maintenance costs, according to the service’s analysis of its gas efficiency, electricity and power requirements. It costs the Army $38.20 to drive an M113 one mile, more than double the $14 figure for the Stryker.

Newer vehicles are also designed to require less maintenance and fewer specialized parts.

“One of our watchwords is commonality, as we move forward with our vehicle integration strategy,” said Army spokesman Lt. Col. Martin Downie. “We’re very aware of the need to reduce the number of repair parts in the maintenance stream and to simplify the process whenever we can.”

Adding 981 Strykers to the current 3,117 will cost $11 billion, or $1.8 billion per year from 2010 to 2015, the PDM said.

The M113 plan is part of the Army’s response to the November order to map out its vehicle plans issued by England and the Pentagon comptroller’s office.

Army analysis indicated Strykers and the yet-to-arrive FCS Manned-Ground Vehicles are best able meet the most missions, which include command-and-control, general-purpose, ambulance, mortar and infantry-carrier roles.

The Bradley was close behind, cited as being able to perform general-purpose, armored medical evacuation and command-post missions.

The least versatile vehicle outlined on the chart was the M997 Humvee ambulance.

“The Humvee Ambulance will not be procured due to survivability limitations,” the PDM says.

Stryker, JLTV, Bradley, FCS MGVs and MRAPs are all listed as having superior ambulance capabilities. Existing M977s will be moved from heavy brigade combat teams to infantry brigade combat teams.