November 20, 2020 | International, Land
The Army is searching for defense contractors to furnish the service with an off-the-shelf squad reconnaissance vehicle to complement its growing fleet of next-generation ground combat vehicles.
The service on Wednesday published a market survey in search of a fully electric or hybrid-electric tactical vehicle to "inform" the acquisition strategy of its electric Light Reconnaissance Vehicle (eLRV) program.
The eLRV will provide "enhanced mobility, lethality, protection, mission load capacity, and onboard power" for six soldiers to conduct both mounted and dismounted reconnaissance and surveillance missions for Infantry Brigade Combat Teams, according to the market survey.
The ideal vehicle will be transportable via CH-47 or C-130, have a range of more than 300 miles, and come with a medium-caliber weapon system to provide "precision 'stand-off' lethality" against both small arms and other light armored vehicles, according to a 2019 Congressional Research Service report.
As Breaking Defense notes, the movement in the long-delayed eLRV program also comes amid a service-wide push to convert gas-powered ground vehicles to electric platforms for both tactical and logistical reasons.
Electric vehicles "accelerate quicker, run cooler, and move quieter than internal combustion ones – advantages that are all especially valuable for stealthy scouts like LRV," as Breaking Defense put it in October.
In addition, electric power "could reduce dependence on long supply lines and vulnerable convoys of tanker trucks, which are prime targets for adversaries ranging from Taliban irregulars to Russian missiles."
The eLRV will also "operate in conjunction" with the service's next-generation Mobile Protected Firepower (MPF) light tank and Infantry Squad Vehicle (ISV) to "enhance the lethality, mobility, reconnaissance, and security" of IBCTS, according to the market survey.
Those new formations are still a ways off: the Army only accepted its first batch of ISVs in October and won't conduct its assessment of its two MPF prototypes until January 2021.
And that's depending on if the Army formally sets aside any funding for the new scout vehicle in the first place. As the 2019 CRS report noted, the service did not actually request any money to fund the eLRV effort in both fiscal years 2020 and 2021
In the meantime, Army officials "were planning to use the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) to serve as the LRV on an interim basis," according to the CRS report. "From a programmatic perspective, the Army referred to its interim LRV solution as the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle-Reconnaissance Vehicle (JLTV-RV)."
If the Army gets its funding together, the service aims to potentially choose an off-the-shelf tactical vehicle for full production as soon as fiscal year 2025.
https://taskandpurpose.com/military-tech/army-electric-light-reconnaissance-vehicle-markey-survey
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Dulles, Va., February 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) and IronNet Cybersecurity Inc. have announced plans to develop cyber solutions for the defense of operational and information technology (OT/IT) systems. These solutions would integrate managed security services with advanced analysis and threat sharing tools including IronNet's collective defense platform, and its network traffic analysis software, to potentially bring new solutions for enterprise protection. The combined solutions are designed to be part of a collective defense offering for critical infrastructure and national security networks and systems. These solutions offer hardening of OT/IT platforms to increase resiliency for systems that orchestrate sensing, control, networking and analytics to interact with the physical world, and enable safe, secure and adaptable performance. John DeSimone, vice president of Cybersecurity and Special Missions at Raytheon Intelligence, Information and Services, said: "Protecting critical infrastructure is no longer a private sector concern, but a national security imperative. We know malicious actors seek to disrupt global economies through attacks on technology systems that keep our lights on, food supplies safe and militaries prepared. This partnership offers the integration of advanced cyber products and operations experience to the global market." GEN (Ret.) Keith Alexander, co-CEO and founder of IronNet Cybersecurity, said, "Considering the role Raytheon plays in securing government agencies, global businesses, and even nations, we are excited to work together as we shift the cybersecurity defense paradigm from one that sees organizations defending alone to one that operates as a part of a collective. We can all benefit from working together to increase the visibility we have into incoming threats, sharing that information, and defending more quickly." About IronNet IronNet Cybersecurity is revolutionizing how enterprises, industries, and governments secure their networks. As sophisticated cyber anomalies are detected through IronNet's network traffic analysis platform, alerts are generated and shared quickly, safely and anonymously across collective defense members. These events are then correlated across industry peers in real time, giving members faster visibility into potential threat campaigns. About Raytheon Raytheon Company, with 2019 sales of $29 billion and 70,000 employees, is a technology and innovation leader specializing in defense, civil government and cybersecurity solutions. With a history of innovation spanning 98 years, Raytheon provides state-of-the-art electronics, mission systems integration, C5I® products and services, sensing, effects, and mission support for customers in more than 80 countries. Raytheon is headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts. Follow us on Twitter. Media Contact Raytheon Rachael Duffy 571-888-6539 Rachael.L.Duffy@raytheon.com View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/raytheon-collaborates-with-ironnet-on-cyber-defense-for-critical-infrastructure-301011978.html