University centers of excellence for M&S in support of military systems

The US Army vision, announced in October of 1999, encompasses people, readiness, and transformation. The goal of the Army vision is to transition the entire Army into a force that is strategically responsive and dominant at every point of the spectrum of operations. The Future Combat Systems (FCS] program is a joint DARPA/Army program' that is identifying the promising systems and technologies for achieving the Army's vision of fielding an "Objective Force" beginning this decade. The Objective Force is the Army's future full spectrum force; organized, manned, equipped and trained to be more strategically responsive, deployable, agile, versatile, lethal, survivable, and sustainable across the entire spectrum of military operations from major theater wars through counter terrorism to homeland security. This force will be lighter and more mobile and the Army transformation requirements include the ability to put a combat-capable brigade anywhere in the world within 96 hours, a full division in 120 hours, and five divisions on the ground within 30 days. The FCS is envisioned to be a versatile family of combat systems that represent the way the Army will fight wars in the future. The Army plans to field an integrated system of combat systems in blocks until full objective capability is realized to meet the goals of Army transformation. These systems will incorporate the latest technologies for mobility, lethality, sensor platforms, and survivability. The Tank Automotive Research, Development, and Engineering Center (TARDEC) has spearheaded these efforts by developing collaborative relationships with leading US universities to investigate and implement fostered research into the virtual prototyping process. The goal is to streamline and improve simulation-based design and analysis capabilities with special emphasis being placed on application to new and existing tactical wheeled and tracked vehicles. This paper will describe some of TARDEC's efforts to develop more robust, general purpose, analytical capabilities which will allow detailed investigation of a vehicle's synergistic dynamic performance.