Retour aux nouvelles

2 octobre 2019 | International, Terrestre

Pencils down: Bids are in to replace the US Army’s Bradley fighting vehicle

By: Jen Judson

WASHINGTON — The bids are in for a chance to build prototypes for the Army's Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle that will replace its Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle.

Among them is a Raytheon and Rheinmetall team putting forward Rheinmetall's Lynx 41 Infantry Fighting Vehicle, and General Dynamics Land Systems, which showcased its Griffin III technology demonstrator equipped with a 50mm cannon a year ago at the Association of the U.S. Army's annual exposition.

It is currently unknown if any other teams submitted bids by the service's set deadline of Oct. 1. None have come forward publicly despite rumors of a dark horse or two.

Absent from the usual brood of combat vehicle manufacturers is BAE Systems. Defense News broke the news earlier this year that the company wouldn't compete in the OMFV competition.

Textron has joined the Raytheon and Rheinmetall team with plans to, if chosen to build the new vehicle, build Lynx here in the United States at its Slidell, Louisiana, manufacturing facility. Raytheon and Rheinmetall announced a joint venture Oct. 1 — calling it Raytheon Rheinmetall Land Systems LLC — to pursue the OMFV competition.

“General Dynamics Land Systems submitted our OMFV proposal and bid sample to the US Army on 27 September. GD's bid sample was purpose built to address the desired system lethality, survivability and mobility as substantiation of our response to the Army's request for proposal,” the company said in a statement sent to Defense News. The company did not provide details on the submission.

GDLS did note, however, that it is proposing a “purpose built vehicle” using technologies from other platforms and “years of investment in advanced capabilities to include a 50mm cannon,” according to the statement.

The Army released its request for proposals in March opening a competition to build prototypes. The service plans to choose from the pool of bidders up to two teams to build 14 prototypes each.

The service will choose a winner that will start replacing Bradleys in 2026 that is designed to better operate in future environments that would allow soldiers to maneuver to a position of advantage and “to engage in close combat and deliver decisive lethality during the execution of the combined arms maneuver,” according to an Army statement issued along with the RFP release.

Some of the threshold requirements for OMFV are a 30mm cannon and a second-generation, forward-looking infrared system, or FLIR. Objective requirements are a 50mm cannon and a third-generation FLIR.

Brig. Gen. Ross Coffman, who is in charge of Next-Generation Combat Vehicle (NGCV) modernization efforts, said at the Defense News Conference in September that he is confident the requirements set for OMFV are right and had no plans to change them.

The selected prototypes will go through “rigorous” operational testing and soldier assessments.

The Army plans to downselect to one vehicle for low-rate initial production following the assessments and testing.

https://www.defensenews.com/land/2019/10/01/pencils-down-bids-are-in-for-armys-bradley-fighting-vehicle-replacement

Sur le même sujet

  • US Navy awards contract to Raytheon for precision landing systems

    19 juin 2019 | International, Aérospatial

    US Navy awards contract to Raytheon for precision landing systems

    The US Navy has awarded a $234m initial low-rate production contract to Raytheon to manufacture 23 joint precision approach and landing systems (JPALS). The global positioning system (GPS) enabled precision landing systems will be outfitted on all of the navy's nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships. JPALS has the capability to guide aircraft to precision landings in all weather and surface conditions. The US Marine Corps' F-35B Lightning II fighter aircraft use Raytheon's JPALS to land on USS Wasp amphibious assault ship. Raytheon Intelligence, Information and Services business vice-president Matt Gilligan said: “The US Navy understands how JPALS contributes to their mission success and safety of its people. “Other military services could also benefit from the system's ability to safely land both fixed and rotary-wing aircraft in almost any low-visibility environment.” Last year, the F-35B pilots began using the system to guide them onto USS Wasp during a deployed operation. In April this year, Raytheon demonstrated land-based deployable version of the JPALS system. The version is designed to provide the same precision capability offered in ship-landings. As part of the demonstration, F-35B pilots used the GPS-based system on the jet to connect with the expeditionary system on the ground from 200nm away. Raytheon used the proof-of-concept event to showcase how the JPALS system could be reconfigured into a mobile version to guide aircraft to land in a traditional airport setting. The expeditionary JPALS version currently fits in five transit cases. The company noted that the system could be repackaged for small, transit vehicles that are transportable by C-130. It can be set up in less than 90 minutes, once on the ground. The technology will help US Air Force pilots to perform landings on austere runways in remote regions. https://www.naval-technology.com/news/us-navy-awards-contract-to-raytheon-for-precision-landing-systems/

  • Spain’s Navantia expects new warship sales to Saudi Arabia

    18 mai 2023 | International, Naval

    Spain’s Navantia expects new warship sales to Saudi Arabia

    The Spanish shipbuilder is already doing some preliminary outreach with Saudi companies for a yet-to-be specified combat ship program.

  • DOD announces $250M in military aide to Ukraine

    19 juin 2019 | International, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR

    DOD announces $250M in military aide to Ukraine

    By Tony Bertuca The Defense Department announced today it plans to provide $250 million in military aid to Ukraine, including a variety of small arms, maritime surveillance systems, night vision equipment and electronic warfare detection and secure communications systems. "This reaffirms the long-standing defense relationship between the United States and Ukraine and will bring total U.S. security assistance to Ukraine to $1.5 billion since 2014," the Pentagon said. In February 2014, Russian-backed forces invaded Ukraine and annexed the Crimean Peninsula, ratcheting up military tensions with the Europe and the United States. The new military aide has been approved because of Ukraine's "continued progress" in adopting institutional military reforms that "align" with Euro-Atlantic principles, according to DOD. "The United States remains committed to helping Ukraine implement provisions of Ukraine's 2018 Law on National Security to strengthen democratic civilian control of the military, promote command and control reforms, enhance transparency and accountability in acquisition and budgeting, and advance defense industry reforms," DOD said. "These reforms will bolster Ukraine's ability to defend its territorial integrity in support of a secure, prosperous, democratic, and free Ukraine." https://insidedefense.com/insider/dod-announces-250m-military-aide-ukraine

Toutes les nouvelles