The second major component of the Defense Department's 21st Century platform is the development of a quick response fighting force. Electric tanks, electro-thermal chemical cannons, unmanned platforms: Much of this work is included in the category of the army's Future Combat Systems (FCS). According to the Defense Department, "The FCS program will develop network centric concepts for a multi-mission combat system that will be overwhelmingly lethal, strategically deployable, self-sustaining and highly survivable in combat." As part of what the army calls its future Objective Force, "FCS units will seek to see and kill enemy units first…lighter systems with fewer logistics will enable units to be deployed around the world in days."

The system will incorporate so-called light weapons, which consist of lightweight vehicles designed to maneuver with maximum speed and flexibility in order to enter and exit battle situations with ease. Prototypes are due to be in service near the end of the decade. To accomplish the deployment goal of 2012, research and development have been rapidly accelerated. The Defense Associated Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has redirected nearly $3 billion toward the desired technology programs.

So what's the rush? Development of FCS is an imperative, says Lt. General Paul Kern -the army's military deputy for acquisition, for the "quick response capability the army is intent on developing." University of Texas researcher Hans Mark describes the challenge: "Clearly the Army had probably the most difficult transformation job as a result of the end of the Cold War, because it was structured to fight a big land war in Europe, and up to 1989 that was a credible threat…Now we're more in the business of doing Kosovo and things like that, and so the army really does have to change."

Although Kern and Mark are mainly referring to "the business of doing Kosovo" the weapons that comprise Future Combat Systems might also be slated for use against U.S. citizens. Using as case studies the interventions in Somalia and Haiti as well as military involvement in suppressing the Los Angeles rebellion of 1992, the Pentagon has been exploring options for military operations in urban terrain. On both accounts, Future Combat Systems are being touted as a solution. Jane's Defense Weekly contends that "urban warfare and the need for dispersed operations and rapid deployments are precisely the reasons the army is rushing FCS."

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