Summary

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO examined the Army's Armored Systems Modernization Program's (ASM) justification, affordability, and priorities.

GAO found that: (1) the Army based its ASM program justification on the projected threat of powerful and massive Soviet and Warsaw Pact forces and of a European-wide strike; (2) the Soviet Union's unilateral force reductions, the disintegration of the Warsaw Pact, and the signing of the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe have diminished this threat; (3) since Army procurement appropriations are expected to be constrained in the future, the affordability of the massive modernization program is questionable; (4) along with all other projected procurement needs, the ASM program will require significantly more funds than are expected to be available in fiscal years 1998 through 2008; (5) even though there was a projected delay in the fielding of the Soviet Union's future main battle tank, the Future Soviet Tank 3, the Army continues to view the Block III tank as its top priority; (6) the Army is currently developing technology that will provide the existing M1A1 tank fleet the ability to defeat the Future Soviet Tank 3 by outfitting them with new electrothermal gun technology; and (7) current artillery meets neither the current threat nor the needs of the Army's future battle doctrine, which stresses more effective long-range, agile artillery.