The ASM program began in the mid-1980s, when the Army planned to simultaneously develop, produce, and field 24 new combat vehicles, including tanks, self-propelled artillery, infantry fighting vehicles, and other armored systems, under what was called the "Armored Family of Vehicles Program".
In February 1990, the Army added a light, direct-fire weapon-the Armored Gun System-and renamed the program the "ASM Program."