February 4, 2019 | International, Land
Pentagon releases RFP for ‘optionally manned’ Bradley replacement
The Pentagon seeks industry feedback on the draft request for proposals for Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle (OMFV) vehicle. The U.S. Army on 31 January posted a request for proposal (RFP) on Federal Business Opportunities for OMFV combat vehicle that will be designed for and used by military forces to maneuver Soldiers in the future operating environment (FOE) to a position of advantage, in order to engage in close combat and deliver decisive lethality during the execution of combined arms maneuver. In a notice posted on the Federal Business Opportunities Website, the army called on companies to submit their plans to develop pre-production prototypes of new combat vehicles. The Next-Generation Combat Vehicle – OMFV must exceed current capabilities while overmatching similar threat class systems. It must be optimized for dense urban areas while also defeating pacing threats on rural (open, semi-restricted and restricted) terrain and be characterized by the ability to spiral in advanced technologies as they mature. Since its inception, the NGCV-OMFV program has represented an innovative approach to Army acquisition by focusing on delivering an essentially new capability to the Armor Brigade Combat Teams (ABCTs) while under a significantly reduced timeline, as compared to traditional acquisition efforts. This will be achieved by leveraging existing material solutions with proven capabilities coupled with new technologies to meet the requirements. The draft request sticks to the original target of awarding up to two EMD contracts during the second quarter of fiscal year 2020. Each contractor at that time will deliver 14 pre-production vehicles, as well as two ballistic hulls and turrets. One of the U.S. Army's top research centers has already achieved considerable success in developing a prototype of the Next-Generation Combat Vehicle (NGCV). Some sources claimed that the United States Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC) are now nearing production of demonstrator of new robotic vehicle build onto a surrogate platform. https://defence-blog.com/army/pentagon-releases-rfp-for-optionally-manned-bradley-replacement.html