tracked vehicles

‘No More Fruit’ In Army’s Budget Tree: McConville

The Army’s prioritized so ruthlessly that the top 11 percent of programs will get 50 percent of the funding. The other 89 percent can’t take any more cuts without it killing them.

Land Warfare

Inside Russia’s Robot Army: Rhetoric vs. Reality

Russia has big ambitions for unmanned systems, said CNA scholar Sam Bendett, but it faces the same technical hurdles as the US — and shares the same concerns about human control.

Congress

OMFV: Army’s Bradley Replacement Faces Hill, DoD Skeptics

Industry is excited about the Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle. Congress and the Biden Administration are a harder sell.

Land Warfare

OMFV: Why Small Biz MettleOps Has A Shot

“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.

Allies

OMFV: Korea’s Hanwha Is Officially In

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.

Land Warfare

OMFV: GD Emphasizes AI & Adaptability For Bradley Replacement

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.

Air Warfare

Michigan: Arsenal of Democracy for dangerous times

Michigan’s defense ecosystem and expertise makes it a special asset for production.

Land Warfare

OMFV: Army gets BAE, GD Designs For Bradley Replacement

BAE’s press release features a shadowy silhouette of a previously unseen vehicle. Could this be BAE’s proposal for the Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle?

Allies

L3Harris Joins Rheinmetall’s Team Lynx For Army OMFV

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.

Air Warfare

Army Needs Armor For City Fights: Gen. McConville

The Army Chief of Staff defended the service’s ambitious modernization program, particularly new armored vehicles and long-range missiles.

Global

Future Tank: Beyond The M1 Abrams

Manned armored vehicles will have a place even in a world of killer drones, experts agreed. But will they engage the enemy directly with big guns, or stay hidden and send out armed robots instead?

Land Warfare

Faster, Tougher, Smarter: Army’s Future Armored Force EXCLUSIVE

Adding robot scouts and replacing vintage vehicles – the M113, the M2 Bradley, and potentially even the M1 Abrams – will make heavy brigades much more mobile, lethal, and aware of threats, Maj. Gen. Richard Ross Coffman says.

Global

A War With China Would Spread To Land, Says Army Tanker

“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.”

Land Warfare

Army Tests New Active Protection For Abrams, Bradley, AMPV & Stryker

The Army’s already installed off-the-shelf Israeli anti-missile systems on its M1 Abrams and tried similar tech on Bradley and Stryker. But what it really wants is a standardized yet customizable Modular Active Protection System (MAPS) it can install on a wide range of vehicles.

Allies

Army Tries (Again) To Protect Stryker: Rafael or Rheinmetall?

Miniaturized missile defenses work well on heavy tanks, but efforts to fit such Active Protection Systems on light vehicles like Stryker have failed – so far. Now the Army will test two lightweight options: Rafael’s Trophy VPS and Rheinmetall’s ADS.