The program, which was rebaselined during Low Rate Initial Production, is now meeting monthly production goals, Jim Schimer, deputy PEO for ground combat systems, told us. But a "gap remains" between what BAE was contracted to supply and what they are supplying.
Industry is excited about the Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle. Congress and the Biden Administration are a harder sell.
“We realize that we may be considered an underdog,” says the company, which has never built a vehicle before, “but that is not going to stop us” — and the Army has explicitly sought out small businesses with big ideas.
The Korean company is partnering with US-based Oshkosh. That means at least five teams are now competing to replace the M2 Bradley, a far stronger response than the Army’s first attempt in 2019.
General Dynamics is offering the Army a design approach -- not a specific vehicle -- that rigorously examines a wide array of options. The common factors: advanced electronics, open architecture and artificial intelligence.
L3Harris joins Textron and Raytheon on Rheinmetall’s team to refine the heavily armored, high-tech Lynx for the Army’s Optionally Manned Fighting vehicle competition.
Cybersecurity skills must evolve in near-real time as Zero Day threats continue and AI provides new challenges.
The Army Chief of Staff defended the service’s ambitious modernization program, particularly new armored vehicles and long-range missiles.
“China’s proven it will not self-limit in competition, so we cannot expect them to self-limit in conflict,” said Maj. Gen. Richard Ross Coffman, who heads armored vehicle modernization at Army Futures Command. “We’ve got to be able to fight no matter where we are.”
With shrinking budgets and a growing need for new technologies, “the Army will need to make a compelling case to Congress to fund new capabilities and truncate legacy programs,” said CSBA’s Tom Mahnken.
Want to make a mini-tank that carries two passengers in back? Or put the heavy weapons on one vehicle and the passengers in another? Go for it, the Army’s armor modernization director told industry.
Michigan’s defense ecosystem and expertise makes it a special asset for production.
The cutting-edge IVAS targeting goggles took a $230 million hit, while the latest upgrade to the venerable CH-47 Chinook – which the Army doesn’t actually want – got a $165 million boost.
The Army has outlined draft objectives for a range of Robotic Combat Vehicles, from an expendable light scout armed with a single anti-tank missile to a 30-ton unmanned tank as tough as the 70-ton M1 Abrams.
BAE Systems' York, Penn. plant has overcome COVID and quality-control problems to get the Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle and the Paladin howitzer back on track, Army officials told Breaking Defense.
These companies teamed up for the Army’s first, stillborn attempt to build a new armored troop carrier in 2019. This time they’re offering “a new variant.”