The Army announced its decision on Nov. 17, 2000. The eight-wheeled General Motors LAV III would be the Army's new ride. It backed the decision with a $4 billion order to equip up to seven IBCT. The vehicles will be built by a newly created joint venture between General Motors and General Dynamics Land Systems, maker of the Abrams.

The basic vehicle is a 19-ton, Canadian-built LAV III that rides on run-flat tires. Weapons, ammunition and crew double its weight. Full-time four-wheel drive with selective eight-wheel drive enables it to speed at 60 mph on the open road, traveling 312 miles before refueling. It is fully protected with 14.5mm armor that, the Army claims, is sufficient to keep machine gun bullets and mortar and artillery fragments from injuring its two-man crew. Once in a combat zone, the vehicles will be expected to operate independently for 72 hours.

"Since all the vehicles possess the same characteristics, whether it's cross-country or on the highway, they move as a fighting unit and retain that cohesiveness," explains Lt. Gen. Paul Kern, head of Army acquisitions. The initial order for 366 vehicles includes specialized versions for reconnaissance, fire support, medical evacuation and engineering teams. Other models will be equipped to fire mortars and missiles. Command vehicles and nuclear, chemical and bioweapons detection vehicles round out the package. As now conceived, an Interim Armored Vehicle Company will use 20 LAVs. A dozen will carry nine infantrymen in each. A pair of vehicles will each have 60mm to 120mm mortars, another will have a remote control gun for fire suppression.

The remaining three vehicles, designated the Mobile Gun System Variant, will carry the company's biggest weapon, a 105mm rifled cannon mounted in a low-profile turret. This is the same firepower originally installed on the first generation of Abrams M1 battle tanks.

The initial reaction of tank commanders has been to downplay the abilities of these new

weapons. And, the wheel versus tread debate is still very much alive, with the Pentagon's decision being challenged by a track vehicle manufacturer. Congress also has stepped in and ordered a test to determine which is superior.

But the future of tanks may already be foretold in the headlines of the world press. Today, wars are small regional conflicts that increasingly start and end fast. A weapon that can't arrive in time for the battle isn't really a weapon at all. --S.G.

Automated navigation and weapons systems will let the crew fire at targets from the safety of the vehicle’s protective armor, an important consideration in urban warfare.

Just as the cavalry gave way to internal-combustion chariots, Army planners are poised to take the next evolutionary step in tactical mobility technology: They are going electric. Hybrid electric propulsion, already available in some commercial vehicles, is now being considered for use on combat vehicle platforms. United Defense L.P., for example, has developed a hybrid electric-drive demonstrator based on its tracked M113 armored personnel carrier. The hybrid's major components include a diesel-powered, engine-driven generator, a battery pack for power storage, and two 250-hp oil-cooled electric motors used to drive the track sprockets.

During normal operations, vehicle power is provided simultaneously from both the battery pack and the generator. The system design allows the prime generator to provide the power necessary to drive track sprockets and auxiliary equipment, with the batteries providing supplemental power for accelerating or hill climbing. Since electric motors act like generators, the system also recovers and stores power during vehicle braking. The hybrid engine provides 500 hp and more than enough acceleration to leave most internal-combustion tactical vehicles in the dust.