"why cancel it? " Heavy and expensive and not high on the list of priorities relative to the available funding. If it lives up to billing, it would be a noticably better system than what it replaces. But, it would be only marginally air transportable, it would soak up sizable money, and this Secretary of Defense seems more interested in not evolutionary, but revolutionary new tech. He's trying to push for funding another leap of technology, skimping a bit on simple upgrades. Keep in mind that the man who's trying to cancel the project is the same man who cancelled at least two other major projects back when he last held a similar job, before the Clinton years. (One cancellation stuck; one was overruled by Congress). There's already a fight shaping up. The Senate just passed a bill funding the Crusader for next year. How it will come out is unpredictable.

go to armytechnology.com, or globalsecurity.org ... for Crusader info. The lawmakers are only interested in Crusader because its a pork barrel. I don't think there's any pressing need to replace the M109.