logo
The US Army's done with Humvees and the Robotic Combat Vehicles. Here's what leaders want instead.

The US Army's done with Humvees and the Robotic Combat Vehicles. Here's what leaders want instead.

Yahoo19 hours ago
The US Army is taking a hard look at what systems and platforms it doesn't need for future conflicts.
The Army secretary and a top general gave BI some insight into this process.
The service is undergoing a major transformation initiative after a directive earlier this year.
US Army leaders say Humvees and Robotic Combat Vehicles aren't useful for future fights, but the Infantry Squad Vehicle is.
Ongoing decisions about what stays and what goes are part of a larger transformation initiative that has the Army reviewing its force structure and cutting certain programs it deems no longer necessary for the kinds of wars the US military wants to be ready to fight should worse come to worst.
Secretary of the Army Daniel Driscoll and Gen. James Rainey, the commanding general overseeing Army Futures Command, talked to Business Insider about some of what is getting axed and why.
Driscoll pointed to the Robotic Combat Vehicle, or RCV, program, which launched in 2019 with the goal of integrating autonomous and remotely operated capabilities into the Army's ground systems. Three versions were initially planned — an expendable light variant, a durable medium variant, and a lethal heavy variant designed for combat against an enemy armored vehicle.
But the development of the RCV hit snags. "We know we need autonomy, we know that we need the ability to move things in a way that is not controlled by human beings," Driscoll said.
But the requirements the Army put together for it ended up making it just this "incredibly large, incredibly heavy, incredibly expensive, relatively exquisite tool," he said. By the time the Army went to purchase them, the threats to the RCV, like small, hostile drones, had grown substantially. In Ukraine, slow, heavy, expensive vehicles have been prime targets for cheap exploding drones.
"It might have been there in the beginning and we got it wrong from the very beginning," he said, "but at a minimum, by the time it came due for us actually purchase a lot of these and get them into formations, it just no longer made sense anymore."
He called the move to end the program "a hard decision."
The Humvee, or High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle, is also being phased out. "It's 40 years old. It was useful in its time," Rainey said. "If you look at the ubiquitous sensing drones just in Ukraine and Russia, the survivability of a wheeled vehicle is very low."
The Army also recently ended the M10 Booker Mobile Protected Firepower program just before it was set to go into full-rate production and after spending well over a billion dollars on the project. The decision was made in response to ongoing global conflicts "and in support of the strategic objectives outlined in the Army Transformation Initiative," according to a memo issued by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth earlier this year.
The memo outlined the focal points, timelines, and priorities of the Army going forward, including reducing and restructuring attack helicopter formations and augmenting them with unmanned aircraft, putting thousands of drones into the hands of soldiers, and focusing on the Indo-Pacific theater and China.
The efforts in the directive are estimated to cost around $36 billion over the next five years and represent one of the largest Army overhauls since the end of the Cold War. Army officials have said it's designed to increase lethality and readiness in the service and is focused on the needs of individual warfighters.
In the interview with BI, Driscoll and Rainey identified one platform that represents what it wants more of. "We have a requirements and acquisitions success story with the Infantry Squad Vehicles," Rainey said.
The relatively new M1301 Infantry Squad Vehicle entered service in 2020. Rainey said that the platform was designed well and requirements were useful and thoughtful. "We went fast, but we iterated with soldiers continually through the process. We ended up with a very useful vehicle," he said.
Driscoll said that in conversations with soldiers, the Army learned that they wanted a vehicle to prioritize speed and all-terrain driving over protection.
It speaks to, the service secretary said, the Army "trying to build a menu of offensive and defensive solutions." For some missions, something like the Infantry Squad Vehicle will be more effective. And for others, a heavier, more armored platform could still be valuable and available.
Much of what Driscoll and others say they're focused on comes out of efforts to be smarter and more cost-effective in Army purchases.
"We feel a large enough existential threat, and it is important enough that we can no longer make decisions simply based off where jobs might exist or what private companies may benefit from our decisions," he said. "Instead, we have to optimize for soldier lethality in the fight ahead."
Lethality is a guiding principle for the US Department of Defense under Hegseth and the Trump administration. It was a core objective for the Biden administration and first Trump one, as well as past administrations, though the interpretations were different. Generally, it serves as a subjective measuring stick for DoD programs and projects, the aim being to be able to effectively defeat an enemy.
Right now, that long-standing Pentagon buzzword is the deciding factor for what the Army and other services prioritize.
Read the original article on Business Insider
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

A Look At The Fair Value Of Balchem Corporation (NASDAQ:BCPC)
A Look At The Fair Value Of Balchem Corporation (NASDAQ:BCPC)

Yahoo

time22 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

A Look At The Fair Value Of Balchem Corporation (NASDAQ:BCPC)

The projected fair value for Balchem is US$164 based on 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity With US$165 share price, Balchem appears to be trading close to its estimated fair value Our fair value estimate is 17% lower than Balchem's analyst price target of US$197 Does the July share price for Balchem Corporation (NASDAQ:BCPC) reflect what it's really worth? Today, we will estimate the stock's intrinsic value by taking the forecast future cash flows of the company and discounting them back to today's value. This will be done using the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model. Don't get put off by the jargon, the math behind it is actually quite straightforward. We would caution that there are many ways of valuing a company and, like the DCF, each technique has advantages and disadvantages in certain scenarios. Anyone interested in learning a bit more about intrinsic value should have a read of the Simply Wall St analysis model. We've found 21 US stocks that are forecast to pay a dividend yield of over 6% next year. See the full list for free. We are going to use a two-stage DCF model, which, as the name states, takes into account two stages of growth. The first stage is generally a higher growth period which levels off heading towards the terminal value, captured in the second 'steady growth' period. To start off with, we need to estimate the next ten years of cash flows. Where possible we use analyst estimates, but when these aren't available we extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the last estimate or reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years. Generally we assume that a dollar today is more valuable than a dollar in the future, so we discount the value of these future cash flows to their estimated value in today's dollars: 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 2033 2034 2035 Levered FCF ($, Millions) US$189.0m US$202.7m US$214.8m US$225.7m US$235.7m US$245.1m US$254.1m US$262.8m US$271.5m US$280.1m Growth Rate Estimate Source Analyst x2 Est @ 7.27% Est @ 5.97% Est @ 5.06% Est @ 4.42% Est @ 3.98% Est @ 3.67% Est @ 3.45% Est @ 3.30% Est @ 3.19% Present Value ($, Millions) Discounted @ 6.9% US$177 US$177 US$176 US$173 US$169 US$164 US$159 US$154 US$149 US$144 ("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = US$1.6b We now need to calculate the Terminal Value, which accounts for all the future cash flows after this ten year period. For a number of reasons a very conservative growth rate is used that cannot exceed that of a country's GDP growth. In this case we have used the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield (2.9%) to estimate future growth. In the same way as with the 10-year 'growth' period, we discount future cash flows to today's value, using a cost of equity of 6.9%. Terminal Value (TV)= FCF2035 × (1 + g) ÷ (r – g) = US$280m× (1 + 2.9%) ÷ (6.9%– 2.9%) = US$7.2b Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= US$7.2b÷ ( 1 + 6.9%)10= US$3.7b The total value is the sum of cash flows for the next ten years plus the discounted terminal value, which results in the Total Equity Value, which in this case is US$5.4b. In the final step we divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding. Compared to the current share price of US$165, the company appears around fair value at the time of writing. The assumptions in any calculation have a big impact on the valuation, so it is better to view this as a rough estimate, not precise down to the last cent. We would point out that the most important inputs to a discounted cash flow are the discount rate and of course the actual cash flows. If you don't agree with these result, have a go at the calculation yourself and play with the assumptions. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at Balchem as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 6.9%, which is based on a levered beta of 0.919. Beta is a measure of a stock's volatility, compared to the market as a whole. We get our beta from the industry average beta of globally comparable companies, with an imposed limit between 0.8 and 2.0, which is a reasonable range for a stable business. Check out our latest analysis for Balchem Strength Earnings growth over the past year exceeded the industry. Debt is not viewed as a risk. Weakness Dividend is low compared to the top 25% of dividend payers in the Chemicals market. Expensive based on P/E ratio and estimated fair value. Opportunity Annual earnings are forecast to grow for the next 2 years. Threat Annual earnings are forecast to grow slower than the American market. Valuation is only one side of the coin in terms of building your investment thesis, and it ideally won't be the sole piece of analysis you scrutinize for a company. The DCF model is not a perfect stock valuation tool. Preferably you'd apply different cases and assumptions and see how they would impact the company's valuation. For instance, if the terminal value growth rate is adjusted slightly, it can dramatically alter the overall result. For Balchem, there are three pertinent aspects you should assess: Financial Health: Does BCPC have a healthy balance sheet? Take a look at our free balance sheet analysis with six simple checks on key factors like leverage and risk. Future Earnings: How does BCPC's growth rate compare to its peers and the wider market? Dig deeper into the analyst consensus number for the upcoming years by interacting with our free analyst growth expectation chart. Other High Quality Alternatives: Do you like a good all-rounder? Explore our interactive list of high quality stocks to get an idea of what else is out there you may be missing! PS. Simply Wall St updates its DCF calculation for every American stock every day, so if you want to find the intrinsic value of any other stock just search here. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Sign in to access your portfolio

4 Reasons People Are Using 401(k)s for Emergencies, According to Vanguard
4 Reasons People Are Using 401(k)s for Emergencies, According to Vanguard

Yahoo

time27 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

4 Reasons People Are Using 401(k)s for Emergencies, According to Vanguard

Vanguard recently released its 2025 report on how America saves. It revealed that a record 4.8% of 401(k) holders took a hardship withdrawal in 2024, up from 1.7% in 2020. Be Aware: Check Out: So why are more Americans raiding their retirement accounts? The report listed the following reasons for hardship withdrawals. Over a third (35%) of account holders who took a hardship withdrawal listed avoiding foreclosure or eviction as their motivation. 'Traditionally, homeowners in financial distress might refinance or tap home equity to stay afloat,' said Josh Richner of FaithWorks Financial. 'But with mortgage rates hovering near 7%, refinance volume has dropped to its lowest level since the mid-1990s. That leaves many turning to the only sizable resource they can access: their retirement savings.' Read Next: At 30%, medical expenses made up the second most common driver of hardship withdrawals last year. It doesn't help that many Americans have little to no emergency savings. A study by GOBankingRates found that half of Americans have $500 or less in savings. Vanguard reported that 16% of hardship withdrawals went to cover a home repair or purchase. Brett Daniel, founder of Daniel Safe Money Retirement Solutions, cautioned homebuyers against raiding their retirement savings. 'While purchasing a home can make a great financial investment, using retirement savings for the down payment or home repairs is risky due to the fees involved on the amount withdrawn from your 401(k).' It also leaves you with less money in financial investments to compound throughout your career and pay for your retirement. Another 14% of hardship withdrawals went to covering tuition costs, and 5% were uncategorized. While some of those withdrawals helped the account holders themselves get degrees and improve their future earnings, some likely went to account holders' children. But most financial experts agree that's a dangerous path, as children have many options to fund their college degree, but retirees have just one: their savings. 'Parents looking to help with tuition should look at 529 college savings plans or Coverdell Education Savings Accounts, rather than draining their own retirement accounts,' Daniel said. Vanguard noted that it is now easier to request a hardship withdrawal, due to a 2019 budget act, which could account for some of the increase. Additionally, another recent law could also help explain the bump in hardship withdrawals from 401(k)s. The Secure 2.0 Act of 2022 required employers to automatically enroll new workers in 401(k) accounts, if available. That led to many lower-income workers having retirement accounts, and for some, it represents their only source of savings. Overall, Vanguard doesn't see much cause for alarm with the heightened hardship withdrawals. The report pointed to these legal changes as significant drivers, taking a sanguine stance on the 4.8% hardship withdrawal rate. More From GOBankingRates Mark Cuban Warns of 'Red Rural Recession' -- 4 States That Could Get Hit Hard 10 Used Cars That Will Last Longer Than an Average New Vehicle 5 Cities You Need To Consider If You're Retiring in 2025 This article originally appeared on 4 Reasons People Are Using 401(k)s for Emergencies, According to Vanguard

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store