The US Army’s potential $45-billion Bradley replacement competition has been narrowed down to two firms.
The service on Monday announced that it has selected American Rheinmetall and General Dynamics to move to the next phase of its Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle (OMFV) program.
A total of five teams received contracts two years ago to produce concept designs that would meet the army’s new fighting vehicle requirements.
The proposals by Rheinmetall and General Dynamics bested those of BAE Systems, Oshkosh Defense, and Point Blank Enterprises.
The two advancing defense firms will now split the $1.6-billion budget for the next stage of the competition. The ultimate winner will be granted a potential $45-billion production deal with the US Army.
Winning Proposals
General Dynamics is offering its Griffin III technology demonstrator as a potential replacement for the army’s M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles.
Using an Ajax scout vehicle chassis, the eight-soldier demonstrator can mount a 50-millimeter cannon and host various unmanned aerial vehicles.
The Virginia-based firm has teamed with GM Defense, autonomous technology firm Applied Intuition, and Switchblade drone manufacturer AeroVironment.
Meanwhile, Rheinmetall has joined forces with Raytheon and L3Harris to build its proposal based on the Lynx KF41 infantry vehicle.
Like the Griffin III, Rheinmetall’s pitch can carry a 50-millimeter cannon and various drones.
Additionally, it will feature high-performance thermal sights and a nine-soldier infantry squad capacity.
Despite changes to the requirement, General Dynamic's OMFV contender, the Griffin III, remains in a strong position. With a 2+6 configuration, it has a small protected volume, which means it will maximise protection for any given weight. pic.twitter.com/8AcOgKgnKE
— Nicholas Drummond (@nicholadrummond) April 27, 2020
The Next Phase
Both Rheinmetall and General Dynamics will now be tasked to focus on the detailed design of their proposals and mature their vehicle blueprints.
Phase 3 will conclude with a critical design review, which the competing teams need to pass in order to proceed to the prototyping and testing phase.
If successful, the firms will build up to 11 prototypes, along with two ballistic hulls and turrets, armor coupons, and digital model twins.
The US Army plans to award a low-rate initial production contract to the winning vendor in 2027, with fielding expected to begin in 2029.
