Austin has been selected as the site of the U.S. Army's forthcoming Futures Command center, according to reports from a Bloomberg reporter.
It's a major win for Austin, which was one of five finalist cities vying for the new post. The Army announced last year that it would develop a new center to design high-tech applications and weapons for the future, including missiles, combat vehicles and air defense projects.
Pack your bags defense scribes, we’re going to Austin! Looks like the Texans will host the Army’s New Futures Command, @business @BGOV break https://t.co/yVENqshDOG
— Roxana Tiron (@rtiron) July 12, 2018
In a sense, the center is designed to attract innovative people who want to help the Army expand its capabilities and modernize existing equipment. The center is expected to have about 500 employees, most of whom would be civilians.
The Army describes its Futures Command as "the most significant Army reorganization effort since 1973." It indicated the center would operate as a small and agile headquarters focused on speeding up innovations via rapid prototyping. It lists six priorities: Long-range precision fires, next generation combat vehicles, future vertical lift, Army network, air and missile defense and soldier lethality.
The new center would add to a quickly-growing field of military-related tech activity in Austin.
Last month, the U.S. Air Force announced Austin would be home to its latest military innovation lab AFWERX. And that followed visits from then-Defense Secretary Ash Carter, who launched a DIUx hub at Capital Factory, and then-Army Secretary Eric Fanning, who launched the "Hack the Army" program.
The other finalist cities included Boston, Minneapolis, Raleigh and Philadelphia. The initial list of cities under consideration included Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York City, Philadelphia, Raleigh, N.C., San Diego, San Francisco and Seattle.
