The Army’s nearly $2 billion unfunded priorities list (UPL) for fiscal year 2024 includes over $500 million for Abrams tank procurement and $120 million for the Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS) program, according to a copy of the document obtained by Defense Daily.
The FY ‘24 list is significantly shorter than the last 102-item, $5.1 billion list the Army submitted to Congress for fiscal year ‘23.
This year’s UPL follows the Army’s rollout of its $185.5 billion FY ’24 budget request earlier this month, with officials confirming the service did not require “wholesale” cuts or reductions to current programs to fully fund modernization efforts (Defense Daily, March 13).
The largest item on the list is the $533 million for procurement of M1A2 System Enhancement Package Version 3 Abrams tanks, part of the Army’s ongoing effort to upgrade its fleet of the General Dynamics Land Systems [GD]-built platforms.
For IVAS, built by Microsoft [MSFT], the Army’s list includes $98 million for procurement and $22.4 million for further development.
The unfunded request is on top of the $165 million in the Army’s FY ‘24 budget for IVAS, which covered $89 million to procure the upgraded “1.2” version of the system and $76 million for further development (Defense Daily, March 14).
In early January, the Army awarded Microsoft a $125 million deal to work on developing IVAS 1.2, which it said would include a new form factor and software improvements, with a goal to begin testing the upgraded system this fall (Defense Daily, Jan. 9).
For the AH-64E Apache attack helicopter, the Army’s list includes $121 million additional remanufacturing efforts and $35 million for continued development of a new Apache generator.
Boeing [BA] was awarded the second multi-year deal for AH-64E Apaches on March 17, receiving a contract that could be worth up to $3.8 billion and covers deliveries of more than 100 remanufactured helicopters for the U.S. Army and 54 for Australia and Egypt (Defense Daily, March 17).
A large portion of the Army’s unfunded priorities list also covers $102.5 million for “expanding INDOPACOM campaigning activities,” which the service associated with the Operation Pacific Pathways engagement program.
The unfunded priorities list also includes $77 million for Northrop Grumman’s [NOC] IBCS missile defense command platform, $22.7 million for the M-SHORAD Inc. 1 effort, $21.2 million for the development of the new Maneuver Support Vessel, Heavy watercraft and $39 million for acceleration of efforts to develop new Air-Launched Effects.