J.C. Watts: “I rise to explain why the United States Army needed to develop the Crusader Advanced Field Artillery System, and still…”

“I rise to explain why the United States Army needed to develop the Crusader Advanced Field Artillery System, and still very much needs the Crusader technologies for near future cannon artillery protection for our combat soldiers. I stand here as the Congressman representing the U.S. Army Field Artillery Center at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. For decades, Fort Sill has been recognized as the Center for Excellence in field artillery for the United States, for NATO, in fact, for the world over. I champion Crusader because it is a superior weapon system that will equip our combat soldiers with the best field artillery system in the world--not the 9th best, behind China, Iran, North Korea and Russia. Crusader's leap-ahead mobility, lethality, and responsiveness is what our modern battlefield requirements dictate. Countless news articles, speeches, testimony and letters emphasize that the U.S. Army has needed an advanced field artillery system for over a decade. The need for greater mobility in our self-propelled cannon howitzer became embarrassingly apparent during Desert Storm when our existing howitzers could not keep pace with the maneuver force. Poor performance in Desert Storm accelerated the Army's planning for a major new artillery system that began in 1985. By mid-1993, the requirements for the advanced field artillery system and armored resupply vehicle were approved, and development commenced.”