Army Staff Sgts. Ross Wilcoxson, left, and Marcus Kearse, both M1 armor crewmen assigned to Apache Company, 1st Battalion, 9th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, load ammunition onto a M1A2 Abrams tank during a live-fire exercise at Bemowo Piskie, Poland, Feb. 16, 2023. U.S. Army / Sgt. John Schoebel
Army Wishlist: Tank Upgrades, Augmented Reality
Service has $1.93 billion worth of priority items not included in its official budget request.
The U.S. Army is seeking more money to upgrade its Abrams tanks, advance an augmented reality program, and campaign in the Indo-Pacific, according to the service’s “unfunded priorities” list.
The total Army wishlist is for $1.93 billion, according to documents reviewed by Defense One.
The largest single item is for $533 million for upgrading the Army’s Abrams tanks to the newest SEPV3 configuration. The service had previously proposed spending $698 million on SEPV3 upgrades for 2023, down from just over $1.2 billion spent last year. The new figure, if approved, will bring the total cost of upgrades similar to last year’s cost.
The Army is also seeking just over $120 million for its augmented reality Integrated Visual Augmentation System, or IVAS, goggles, with $98 million for development and $22.4 million for procurement.
The program has faced multi-year delays, but in a recent event at the Brookings Institution, Army Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville remained optimistic. “It's clunky right now, but what that is going to do is transform the way our leaders and soldiers can operate on the battlefield,” he said.
The Army is also seeking $102.5 million for “expanding INDOPACOM campaigning activities.” The funding comes amid a broader Army focus on China, including on funding the types of long-range missiles useful for regional operations.
Other large items included $121 million to replace Apache helicopters and $61 million for Blackhawk replacements. The Army also proposed increased air- and missile-defense spending, including $77 million for the fire-control Integrated Air and Missile Defense Battle CMD System and $22.7 million for the Maneuver-Short Range Air Defense Increment One anti-missile capability.