Pentagon's costly misfires: A history of abandoned programs
The strongest army in the world could look completely different today. For years, the Pentagon has abandoned many weapons developed at the cost of billions of dollars and has concluded ambitious armament programs. What equipment have the American armed forces given up?
After almost 30 years, vehicles commonly referred to as light tanks, serving as fire support vehicles, are returning to the United States Army. The first M10 Booker units are already participating in tests within active units, and the anticipated production of this equipment is expected to exceed 500 units.
For the past three decades, the Pentagon, while recognizing the need for this class of equipment, has been unable to replace the M551 Sheridan light tanks withdrawn in 1996, despite attempts.
A light tank for the Pentagon
Work on the successors began in the 1980s. One of these is the Stingray light tank, developed by Textron Marine & Land Systems (formerly Cadillac Gage Textron), armed with a 105-mm cannon.
Weighing approximately 22,000 kilograms, it was deemed too heavy by the military. Although the American army was not interested, Thailand purchased 110 units in the late 1980s.
Another candidate for the American light tank was the 18,000-kilogram M8 AGS Buford, also armed with a 105-mm cannon with an automatic loader. Despite the decision to implement this equipment and produce several initial units in 1996, the Pentagon decided it did not want such equipment and abandoned the M8.
Nearly 30 years later, the "light" tank that entered service is the more than 40,000-kilogram M10, almost twice as heavy as the Stingray, which was considered too heavy.
Problem with modern artillery
One of the weaknesses of the American army is the lack of modern barrel artillery. Although the M109A6 Paladin and its developmental version, the M109A7, are the primary artillery of the American army, this equipment lags behind contemporary European or Asian counterparts in terms of capabilities.
Americans have been trying to solve this problem for over 20 years, but so far without success. In the spring of 2024, the Pentagon abandoned the ERCA program, which aimed to develop a new generation of barrel artillery. This included the development of the XM1299 ERCA howitzer with a barrel length of 58 calibres. Within this and other programs, firing ranges exceeding 100 kilometres were achieved.
More than two decades earlier, another attempt to replace the M109 howitzers was cancelled, which was the Crusader program. At that time, the American army tested the XM2001 Crusader gun-howitzer, conceptually similar to the Polish Krab, German PzH 2000, or South Korean K9.
The Crusader was a heavy, 43,000-kilogram howitzer with a high degree of automation and a high rate of fire. According to data obtained during trials, a battery of six Crusaders could deliver almost 15,000 kilograms of shells to a distance of 40 kilometres in just 5 minutes.
At the start of the 21st century, the program was cancelled – the howitzers were deemed too expensive and too heavy.
The end of the FARA program and the lack of reconnaissance helicopters
Since the early 1980s, the Pentagon has been trying to build a specialized, advanced reconnaissance helicopter. For many years, this role, as a substitute for the target machines, was fulfilled by Bell OH-58 Kiowa helicopters. These small, light, and highly mobile helicopters, intended for reconnaissance operations and cooperation with heavy, attack AH-64 Apache helicopters, were retired in 2020.
The result of the search for the OH-58 successor was the RAH-66 Comanche helicopter, under design since the early 1980s. Two prototypes of this super-modern machine with reduced radar signature were created: its radar echo was 360 times smaller than that of the Apache. Eventually, the construction program for the Comanche was cancelled in 2004.
Its functional successor was supposed to be a helicopter selected within the FARA program. Even here, the program reached the stage of two competing prototypes – the Sikorsky Raider X and Bell Textron 360 Invictus helicopters, whose maiden flights were planned for 2024. Despite the program's progress, partly based on experiences from the war in Ukraine, the FARA program was cancelled in early 2024.
The world's quietest nuclear submarines
An interesting example of replacing older but more advanced equipment with newer but less sophisticated options is the Seawolf-class submarines (SSN-21). They were designed in the 1980s as "hunter" units.
The Seawolf submarines were meant to operate near Russia's Arctic coast, where, under the protective umbrella of their own navy and air force, Russian boomers hid underwater (and still do). These are nuclear-powered submarines equipped with intercontinental ballistic missiles and nuclear warheads.
Due to the extremely hostile environment they had to operate in, Seawolf-class subs were very well silenced, making them very difficult to detect. Of the planned 29 units of this type, only three were built, and then the Seawolf program was cancelled. Their lower-cost successor is the now-produced Virginia-class submarines.
The Zumwalt destroyer – a super-modern misunderstanding
A similar fate, 30 years later, befell the Zumwalt-class guided missile destroyers. These futuristic ships, designed with stealth features, were intended to become the backbone of the American Navy, replacing the Arleigh Burke-class units in service.
The design of the Zumwalt-class ships was focused on their difficulty of detection – the 183-metre unit displaces 28,000 tonnes but has a radar signature similar to that of a 15-metre yacht. Plans included arming the ships with innovative weapons like railguns or lasers, as well as cruise missiles for land attacks.
Ultimately, due to delays in the development of the target weapons for the Zumwalts and a significant increase in the cost of a single ship (from $3 to $7 billion for the prototype), the planned mass deployment of these units was abandoned. Instead of the planned 30, only three destroyers were built.
