Back to news

January 24, 2020 | International, Land

Bradley Replacement: Did Army Ask For ‘Unobtainium’?

By

WASHINGTON: For the third time in 11 years, the Army's attempt to replace the 1980s-vintage M2 Bradley ran afoul of the age-old tradeoff between armor and mobility, several knowledgeable sources tell Breaking Defense.

The General Dynamics prototype for the Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle – the only competitor left after other companies bowed out or were disqualified – was too heavy to meet the Army's requirement that a single Air Force C-17 cargo jet could carry two complete OMFVs to a war zone, we're told. But the vehicle had to be that heavy, GD's defenders say, to meet the Army's requirement for armor protection.

Now, the Army hasn't officially said why it cancelled the current OMFV contract. Senior leaders – Chief of Staff, Gen. James McConville; the four-star chief of Army Futures Command, Gen. Mike Murray; and the civilian Army Acquisition Executive, Assistant Secretary Bruce Jette – have all publicly acknowledged that the requirements and timeline were “aggressive.” (Yes, all three men used the same word). Jette was the most specific, telling reporters that one vendor – which, from the context of his remark, could only be GD – did not meet all the requirements, but he wouldn't say which requirements weren't met.

So, while we generally avoid writing a story based solely on anonymous sources, in this case we decided their track records (which we can't tell you about) were so good and the subject was so important that it was worth going ahead.

“Industry told the Army the schedule was ‘unobtainium,' but they elected to proceed anyway,” one source told us: That's why the other potential competitors dropped out, seeing the requirements as too hard to meet. In particular, the source said, “industry needs more time to evaluate the trade [offs] associated with achieving the weight requirement.”

With more time, industry might have been able to refine the design further to reduce weight, redesign major components to be lighter, or possibly – and this one is a stretch – even invent new stronger, lighter materials. But on the schedule the Army demanded, another source told us, reaching the minimum allowable protection without exceeding the maximum allowable weight was physically impossible.

Why This Keeps Happening

The Army's been down this road before and stalled out in similar ways. The Ground Combat Vehicle was too heavy, the Future Combat Systems vehicles were too light; “just right” still seems elusive.

In 2009, Defense Secretary Bob Gates cancelled the Future Combat Systems program, whose BAE-designed Manned Ground Vehicles – including a Bradley replacement – had been designed to such strict weight limits that they lacked adequate armor. The Army had initially asked for the FCS vehicles to come in under 20 tons so one could fit aboard an Air Force C-130 turboprop transport. After that figure proved unfeasible, and the Air Force pointed out a C-130 couldn't actually carry 20 tons any tactically useful distance, the weight crept up to 26 tons, but the added armor wasn't enough to satisfy Gates' concerns about roadside bombs, then taking a devastating toll on US soldiers in Iraq.

Four years later, amidst tightening budgets, the Army itself gave up on the Ground Combat Vehicle, another Bradley replacement, after strict requirements for armor protection drove both competing designs – from General Dynamics and BAE Systems – into the 56-70 ton range, depending on the level of modular add-on armor bolted onto the basic chassis. (A much-publicized Governmental Accountability Office study claimed GCV could reach 84 tons, but that was a projection for future growth, not an actual design).

Not quite nine months ago, after getting initial feedback from industry on the Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle, the Army made the tough call to reduce its protection requirements somewhat to make it possible to fit two OMFVs on a C-17. If our sources are correct, however, it didn't reduce the armor requirement enough for General Dynamics to achieve the weight goal.

One source says that two of the General Dynamics vehicles would fit on a C-17 if you removed its modular armor. The add-on armor kit could then be shipped to the war zone on a separate flight and installed, or simply left off if intelligence was sure the enemy lacked heavy weapons. But the requirements didn't allow for that compromise, and the Army wasn't willing to waive them, the source said, because officers feared a vehicle in the less-armored configuration could get troops killed.

Other Options

Now, there are ways to protect a vehicle besides heavy passive armor. Some IEDs in Iraq were big enough to cripple a 70-ton M1 Abrams. Russian tanks get by with much lighter passive armor covered by a layer of so-called reactive armor, which explodes outwards when hit, blasting incoming warheads before they can penetrate. Both Russia and Israel have fielded, and the US Army is urgently acquiring, Active Protection Systems that shoot down incoming projectiles.

The problem with both reactive armor and active protection is that they're only proven effective against explosive warheads, like those found on anti-tank missiles. They're much less useful against solid shells, and while no missile ever fielded can use those, a tank's main gun can fling solid shot with such force that it penetrates armor through sheer concentrated kinetic energy.

(Protecting against roadside bombs and land mines is yet another design issue, because they explode from underneath, but it's no longer the all-consuming question it once ways. Advances in suspension, blast-deflecting hull shapes, and shock absorption for the crew have made even the four-wheeled Joint Light Tactical Vehicle remarkably IED-resistant and pretty comfortable).

If the Army were willing to take the risk of relying more on active protection systems, or give industry more time to improve active protection technology, it could reduce its requirements for heavy passive armor. Or the Army could remove the soldiers from its combat vehicles entirely and operate them with a mix of automation and remote control, which would make crew protection a moot point. In fact, the service is investing in lightly-armored and relatively expendable Robotic Combat Vehicles – but it still sees those unmanned machines as adjuncts to humans, not replacements. As long as the Army puts soldiers on the battlefield, it will want the vehicles that carry them to be well-protected.

Alternatively, the Army could drop its air transport requirements and accept a much heavier vehicle. Israel has already done this with its Namer troop carrier, a modified Merkava heavy tank, but then the Israel army doesn't plan to fight anywhere far away. The US, by contrast, routinely intervenes overseas and has dismantled many of its Cold War bases around the world. Air transport is a limited commodity anyway, and war plans assume most heavy equipment will either arrive by sea or be pre-positioned in warehouses on allied territory. But the Army really wants to have the option to send at least some armored vehicles by air in a crisis.

If the Army won't give ground on either protection or transportability, then it faces a different dilemma: They need to either give industry more time to invent something revolutionary, or accept a merely evolutionary improvement.

“We're going to reset the requirements, we're going to reset the acquisition strategy and timeline,” Gen. McConville said about OMFV on Tuesday. But, when he discussed Army modernization overall, he repeatedly emphasized that “we need transformational change, not incremental improvements.

Transformational change is how we get overmatch and how we get dominance in the future,” the Chief of Staff said. “We aren't looking for longer cords for our phones or faster horses for our cavalry.”

https://breakingdefense.com/2020/01/bradley-replacement-did-army-ask-for-unobtainium

On the same subject

  • Navy issues $23.4M contract for Block 5 Virginia-class sub hardware

    December 9, 2019 | International, Naval

    Navy issues $23.4M contract for Block 5 Virginia-class sub hardware

    The Virginia-class contract was issued to Lockheed Martin, days after General Dynamics was awarded a $22.2 billion deal for nine of the next generation submarines. ByChristen McCurdy Dec. 6 (UPI) -- Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems received a $23.4 million deal to procure hardware for Virginia-class submarines, the Department of Defense announced Friday. The contract funds the purchase of long-lead-time material for two Virginia Block 5 hulls, one Virginia installation and checkout kit, one pre-production unit and associated hardware assets for testing, according to a press release. On Tuesday, General Dynamics Electric Boat received a $22.2 billion contract to build nine Block 5 subs for the Navy. Virginia-class submarines are built to conduct anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface-ship warfare, strike warfare and special operations support as well as intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. Block 5 submarines have an additional payload module and more payload tubes for launching cruise missiles. Work will be performed in Syracuse and is expected to be completed by December 2020. https://www.upi.com/Defense-News/2019/12/06/Navy-issues-234M-contract-for-Block-5-Virginia-class-sub-hardware/1391575679260

  • SAFECOM Publishes 2024 SAFECOM Strategic Plan | CISA

    May 8, 2024 | International, C4ISR

    SAFECOM Publishes 2024 SAFECOM Strategic Plan | CISA

  • Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - February 8, 2019

    February 11, 2019 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security, Other Defence

    Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - February 8, 2019

    ARMY Isometrics Inc.,* Reidsville, North Carolina, was awarded an $82,510,281 firm-fixed-price contract for the Modular Fuel System - Tank Rack Module. Bids were solicited via the internet with five received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Feb. 6, 2024. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Warren, Michigan, is the contracting activity (W56HZV-19-D-0048). Goodwin Brothers Construction, St. Louis, Missouri, was awarded a $33,900,000 firm-fixed-price contract to construct a new water treatment plant for the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant, Missouri. Bids were solicited via the internet with four received. Work will be performed in Independence, Missouri, with an estimated completion date of Feb. 22, 2021. Fiscal 2018 other procurement Army funds in the amount of $33,900,000 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Kansas City, Missouri, is the contracting activity (W912DQ-19-C-4002). Booz Allen Hamilton, McLean, Virginia, was awarded a $12,884,834 modification (P00006) to contract W91RUS-18-C-0024 for cybersecurity support services. Work will be performed in Fort Huachuca, Arizona, with an estimated completion date of Sept. 2, 2029. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance Army funds in the amount of $12,884,834 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Gilbane Federal JV, Concord, California, was awarded a $10,041,983 firm-fixed-price contract for two-phase design build construction of a blood donor center. Bids were solicited via the internet with six received. Work will be performed in Fort Gordon, Georgia, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 21, 2020. Fiscal 2018 military construction funds in the amount of $10,041,983 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Savannah, Georgia, is the contracting activity (W912HN-19-C-3002). NAVY Lockheed Martin Corp., Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, is awarded $52,367,561 for modification P00002 to a previously issued cost-plus-fixed-fee delivery order (N0001918F0472) placed against basic ordering agreement N00019-14-G-0020. This modification provides for additional ancillary mission equipment for F-35 Lightning II aircraft in support of the Marine Corps, Air Force, Navy, non-U.S. Department of Defense (non-U.S. DoD), participants and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) customers. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas, and is expected to be completed in June 2022. Fiscal 2017 aircraft procurement (Marine Corps, Air Force, and Navy); fiscal 2018 aircraft procurement (Marine Corps); non-U.S. DoD participant; and FMS funding in the amount of $52,367,561 will be obligated at time of award, $35,913,912 of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This modification combines purchases for the Marine Corps ($20,791,984; 39 percent); Air Force ($11,338,222; 22 percent); Navy ($5,016,648; 10 percent); non-U.S. DoD participants ($12,112,092; 23 percent), and FMS customers ($3,108,615; 6 percent). The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. General Dynamics NASSCO-Bremerton, Bremerton, Washington, is awarded a $34,305,282 modification to previously awarded contract N00024-14-C-4321 to exercise an option for repair and alteration requirements for USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) fiscal 2019 dry-docking planned incremental availability (DPIA). The DPIA is the opportunity in the ship's life cycle to conduct repairs and alterations. The option will authorize the fourth major availability of the contract, and entails modification and repair of ship equipment, hull and systems. Work will be performed in Bremerton, Washington, and is expected to be completed by July 2020. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance (Navy) funding in the amount of $34,305,282 will be obligated at time of award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility, Bremerton, Washington, is the contracting activity. Huntington Ingalls Industries Fleet Support Group LLC (formerly AMSEC LLC), Virginia Beach, Virginia (N4523A-19-D-1301); Gryphon (formerly CDI Marine Co. LLC), Norfolk, Virginia (N4523A-19-D-1302); and Tridentis LLC,* Alexandria, Virginia (N4523A-19-D-1303), are awarded a combined not-to-exceed $40,000,000 shared capacity, multiple-award indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, firm-fixed-price contract for marine design and engineering services for all current and former U.S. naval vessels, ships, craft and boats in the areas of naval architecture, civil, structural, mechanical, electrical, electronics, industrial and environmental engineering. The work will include planning and estimating, engineering designs and calculations, technical research, troubleshooting and failure mode analysis, assessments and inspections, oversight and technical support of industrial work, training, and detailed reports based on engineering studies and analysis relating to marine vessels and equipment (including, but not limited to cranes, caissons and similar equipment used to support ship repairs, overhaul and dismantling). This requirement also includes computer aided drafting and design drafting and modeling, and technical document preparation, publication and reproduction. Work will be performed in Bremerton, Washington (60 percent); and throughout the world depending on need (40 percent), and is expected to be complete by February 2024. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance (Navy) funding in the amount of $15,000 will be obligated at time of award through the issuance of three separate task orders ($5,000 for each company) and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the Federal Business Opportunities website, with five offers received. The Puget Sound Naval Shipyard & Intermediate Maintenance Facility, Bremerton, Washington, is the contracting activity. Harper Construction Co., Inc., San Diego, California, is awarded $23,958,623 for firm-fixed-price task order N6247319F4285 under a previously awarded multiple award construction contract (N62473-18-D-5853) for bachelor enlisted quarters (BEQ) repairs at Naval Air Station Lemoore, California. The work to be performed provides for a Design-Build project, consisting of whole barracks renovation and modernization of BEQ Towers D, E, and F. The project also includes repairs for the core building in the complex, which houses administration, utilities, and boilers for the BEQ. Building shell work for Towers D, E and F will repair the roof, provide roof anchors, replace metal panels to match existing building walls, replace all exterior doors, frames, and hardware, replace windows, and repair exterior walls. The task order also contains one unexercised option, which if exercised would increase cumulative task order value to $45,234,567. Work will be performed in Lemoore, California, and is expected to be completed by February 2021. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance (Navy) contract funds in the amount of $23,958,623 are obligated on this award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Six proposals were received for this task order. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Southwest, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity. Vigor Marine Inc., Portland, Oregon, is awarded a $17,044,892 firm-fixed-price contract for a 75-calendar day shipyard availability for the regular overhaul and dry docking of USNS Carl Brashear (T-AKE 7). Work will include clean and gas-free tanks, voids, cofferdams and spaces, propulsion motor and cooler, main generator maintenance and cleaning, high voltage switchboard and emergency switchboard cleaning, five-year main engine flex hose replacement, dry-docking and undocking, propeller shaft and stern tube inspect, freshwater (closed loop) stern tube lubrication, underwater hull cleaning and painting, freeboard cleaning and painting, sea valve replacements, renew flight deck nonskid, and reverse osmosis unit sea-chest installation. The contract includes options which, if exercised, would bring the total contract value to $19,374,570. Work will be performed in Portland, Oregon, and is expected to be completed by May 15, 2019. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $17,044,892 are obligated at the time of award. Funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured with proposals solicited via the Federal Business Opportunities website, with two offers received. The U. S. Navy's Military Sealift Command, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N3220519C6004). Jacobs Technology Inc., Ridgecrest, California, is awarded $12,328,002 for modification P00060 to a previously awarded cost-plus-fixed-fee, cost contract (N68936-15-C-0026). This modification provides for the retrofit of existing test equipment, design and development of new testing equipment and test support for Air Launch Testing and Underwater Testing of a conventional prompt strike weapon. Work will be performed in China Lake, California, and is expected to be completed in August 2019. Fiscal 2019 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $270,000 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division, China Lake, California, is the contracting activity. General Dynamics, Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine, is awarded a $10,826,033 cost-plus-fixed-fee modification under a previously awarded contract N00024-14-C-4313 for Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) Planning Yard Services. This modification procures waterjet assembly battle spares for the LCS-5 and follow ships (Freedom Class), from Rolls-Royce Marine North America Inc. Work will be performed in Walpole, Massachusetts (98 percent); and Bath, Maine (2 percent), and is expected to be complete by August 2021. Fiscal 2019 other procurement (Navy) funding in the amount of $10,826,033 will be obligated at award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Supervisor of Shipbuilding, Conversion, and Repair, Bath, Maine, is the contracting activity. Donjon Marine Co. Inc., Hillside, New Jersey, is awarded a $10,364,915 cost-plus-award-fee delivery order under previously-awarded contract N00024-18-D-4307 to provide pumping assets (equipment and personnel) to Puerto Rico to assist with pumping operations designated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE). This contract modification is under Zone A Salvage Services Contract. Action is in response to a salvage services request from ACOE to provide pumping assets given hurricane season commencement and anticipated near-term heavy rainfall. Work will be performed in Puerto Rico and is expected to be completed by December 2019. Non-expiring ACOE funding in the amount of $9,528,240 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity. Homeland Security Solutions Inc., Hampton, Virginia, is awarded a $10,250,351 firm-fixed-price, six-month contract for program management support, training, human resources services and non-guard security support services. This contract includes three one-year option periods, and one six-month option period which, if exercised, could bring the cumulative value of this contract to $35,291,550. Work will be performed in: Camp Lejeune/New River, North Carolina (11 Percent); Camp Pendleton, California (10 percent); Washington, District of Columbia (9 percent); Cherry Point, North Carolina (8 percent); Miramar, California (8 percent); Quantico, Virginia (8 percent); Camp Smith and Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii (7 percent); Beaufort/Parris Island, South Carolina (6 percent); Yuma, Arizona (5 percent); Barstow, California (5 percent); San Diego, California (5 percent); Albany, Georgia (5 percent); Okinawa, Japan (5 percent); Bridgeport, California (2 percent); Blount Island, Florida (2 percent); New Orleans, Louisiana (2 percent); and Iwakuni, Japan (2 percent). Work is expected to be completed September 2019. If all options are exercised, work will continue through March 2023. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance (Marine Corps) in the amount of $10,250,351 will be obligated at the time of award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via solicitation on the Federal Business Opportunities website, with three offers received. The Marine Corps Installations National Capitol Region - Regional Contracting Office, Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia, is the contracting activity for M00264-19-C-0007. Georgia Tech Applied Research Corp., Atlanta, Georgia, is awarded a $9,775,501 cost-plus fixed-fee contract for Low Cost UAS Swarm Technology Distributed Autonomy prototyping, analysis, and support. This contract contains options, which if exercised, will bring the total cumulative value of the contract to $17,441,037. Work will be performed in Atlanta, Georgia, and work is expected to be completed Jan. 31, 2020. If options are exercised, work will continue through Jan. 31, 2022. Fiscal 2019 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $9,061,486 are obligated at the time of award. No funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured under N00014-18-S-B001, a long range broad agency announcement (BAA) for science and technology projects for advancement and improvement of Navy and Marine Corps operations, including expeditionary maneuver warfare and combating terrorism. Since proposals will be received throughout the year under the long range BAA, therefore, the number of proposals received in response to the solicitation is unknown. The Office of Naval Research, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N00014-19-C-2023). MISSILE DEFENSE AGENCY Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems, Redondo Beach, California, is being awarded a $17,416,113 modification (P00359) to a previously awarded F04701-02-C-0009 contract to exercise an option. The value of this contract is increased from $1,898,989,472 to $1,916,405,585. Under this modification, the contractor will provide on-orbit operations and sustainment for the Space Tracking and Surveillance System. The work will be performed at the Missile Defense Space Center at Colorado Springs, Colorado; and at Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems in Redondo Beach, California. The performance period is from April 1, 2019, to March 31, 2020. Fiscal 2019 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $7,000,000 is being obligated at time of award. The Missile Defense Agency, Colorado Springs, Colorado, is the contracting activity. AIR FORCE Textron Aviation Defense, Wichita, Kansas, has been awarded a $10,362,128 undefinitized contract modification (P0005) to a previously awarded undefinitized contract action FA8617-17-C-6216, increasing the not-to-exceed price to $135,279,753 for 12 T-6C aircraft, maintenance and pilot training, and interim contractor support for maintenance. Contractor will provide supplies and services to provide for the replacement of current training aircraft fleet and the enhancement of the Argentina air force surveillance and border security mission. Work will be performed in Wichita, Kansas, and is expected to be complete by June 30, 2021. This contract is 100 percent Foreign Military Sales to Argentina. This award is the result of a sole-source acquisition. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity. *Small Business https://dod.defense.gov/News/Contracts/Contract-View/Article/1752961/source/GovDelivery/

All news