Consulting firm McAleese & Associates has released a report of a House Armed Services Committee hearing on the newly established Army Futures Command that seeks to accelerate the acquisition and deployment of new technology platforms to soldiers.
Gen. John Murray, head of Army Futures Command, appeared before HASC’s readiness subcommittee on Thursday to discuss his priorities and plans for the new command.
“My priorities are the synchronization of efforts across the entire modernization enterprise…to ensure that the enterprise is focused on what is most important to the Army,†said Murray, who was confirmed by the Senate in August.
“Maintaining one person with oversight, who can point out opportunities and problems, so that they can be solved quickly…is one of my primary goals,†he added.
He noted that AFC consists of cross-functional teams that work on approximately 21 programs such as future vertical lift, air missile defense, hypersonics, soldier lethality portfolio, assured position, navigation and timing and directed energy.
Murray told lawmakers about development work on the long-range precision fires program, the establishment of an Army applications laboratory that will serve as an “accelerator hub†in Austin, Texas, and formation of an artificial intelligence task force.
Ryan McCarthy, undersecretary of the Army, joined Murray at the congressional hearing to discuss the service’s plan to reduce “span time†in requirements, tech development and prototyping through AFC.
