The Rheinmetall-Raytheon Lynx concept vehicle for the Army’s OMFV (Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle) program, on display at AUSA

The growing threat from potential near-peer adversaries, such as Russia and China, has propelled the Army into an all-out drive to rapidly modernize with an array of weapons ranging from technologically enhanced ground combat vehicles to long-range precision-guided missiles.

The Army showed its commitment to that quest in its recently released fiscal 2020 budget that allocated billions of dollars, cut from older programs, to fund its modernization priorities. That should be good news for Raytheon Missile Systems (RMS), which has moved to closely align its programs to meet the Army’s requirements, including two of its top six priorities.

RMS is prepared to enter the Army’s Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle (OMFV) program with a replacement for the Bradley Fighting Vehicle and is testing an answer to the high-priority search for an extended-range, precision-fire system. It also is offering upgraded versions of its proven anti-tank weapons, its FLIR low-light sighting system and is ready to move into production of a counter UAS (CUAS) weapon, a senior Raytheon official said.

When the Army announced creation of a series of Cross Functional Teams to aggressive pursue its top modernization priorities, “we created a structure that mirrors the Army’s CFTs,” said Sam Deneke, vice president of Raytheon’s Land Warfare Systems.

The CFTs bring together experienced warfighters, engineers, scientists and acquisition professionals to accelerate development and testing of the top priority capabilities, which Raytheon seeks to duplicate.
“The intention there is to move with the speed the Army wants to move, to be fully aligned with the Army’s needs and priorities. So we actually have folks that line up with each of the CFTs that have been created, for that speed and agility, so that we have the Army’s priorities in mind as we go forward,” Deneke told Breaking Defense.

As part of the Army’s OMFV program, Raytheon has teamed with Rheinmetall Defense to offer the Lynx infantry fighting vehicle, Deneke said. The NGCV program is seeking a family of vehicles and “the Lynx is lined up specifically for the Bradley replacement.”

German-based Rheinmetall, a well-established producer of armored combat vehicles, rolled out one version of the tracked Lynx in 2013 and unveiled a larger model last year. The Lynx is based on a design concept that combines proven subsystems and a freshly designed architecture to deliver true next gen capability and growth.

“One of the biggest deals with this particular vehicle is the growth path to future capabilities. Our offer is primarily aimed to meet all of the Army’s objective requirements,” Deneke said.

“Our focus is primary on the Rheinmetall’s ready now capabilities, adding the Raytheon system of sensors and effectors (weapons), which make it, in our opinion, truly innovative. We’re putting the next gen in the next gen combat vehicle.”

One of the systems that Raytheon could put on Lynx is its Quick Kill Active Protection System (APS), a shield against the increasingly available anti-armor missiles. That is another key Army requirement.
Raytheon is reviewing the Army’s draft request for proposals and expects the formal RFP by early April, Deneke said.

Under an Army contract, RMS is testing a system to counter another of the rapidly growing threats U.S. forces are facing – cheap but potentially lethal armed aerial drones. The Coyote Family of Missiles includes the turbine engine-powered Block 2 model,  a counter UAS weapon, Deneke said.

Coyote

The Coyote is a tube-launched multi-domain, multi-mission missile that depending on the configuration can intercept air and ground targets and can carry a variety of sensors, guidance systems and warheads to find and destroy an enemy UAS, or to serve as a surveillance or electronic attack vehicle.

In 2016 tests, Raytheon launched more than two dozen of the original Coyotes, which maneuvered together as a swarm.

“We’ve been hand-in-hand with the Army as they try to move fast with an incredible capability to counter what has become a growing threat,” Deneke said. To reduce cost and developmental time, RMS “is doing our best to integrate with the equipment the customer already has – in terms of command and control, existing radar.” Coyote “is the effector, working with customer’s specified equipment to provide the best solution.”

And Raytheon is leveraging its own existing capabilities “to bring the lowest cost and effective solution to the market place. The whole thing has been designed from a cost-per-kill concept. It doesn’t make sense to shoot multi-million-dollar effectors against some of the threats that we’re seeing. A lot of what we’ve done is to keep our eye on low cost and make it an affordable solution for the warfighters,” Deneke explained. “We are actively working to transition into production.”

RMS also is moving toward production on a system that would give the Army a precision land attack weapon with longer range and double the capacity of its outdated MLRS and HIMARS rocket systems. Two of the Raytheon missiles fit in the pods that hold a single round in the current rocket systems and they have a range of up to 499 kilometers, far beyond the current weapon’s reach.

The Raytheon system, called DeepStrike, addresses the Army’s concern that weapons fielded by potential peer adversaries out range their existing rocket artillery.

DeepStrike recently completed a successful Preliminary Design Review for the Army program.

In addition to its development of new systems to meet the Army’s high-priority requirements, Raytheon is continuing to update and improve some of its legacy weapons and sensors to help meet the emerging threats.

Deneke highlighted the Next Generation TOW program to enhance the battle-proven Tube-Launched, Optically Tracked, Wire-Guided anti-tank weapon. The system being developed “has much improved range, much faster time to target, to be able to continue to provide that lethality and overmatch to our warfighters,” he said.

Despite its name as a “wire-guided” weapon, TOW has not used a wire for years. “The current TOW is RF (radio frequency) guided, with no wires,” he explained.

“We are getting close to introducing major improvements for another of our proven anti-armor and bunker-buster systems – the Javelin,” Deneke said. The update is the Lightweight Command Launch Unit, or LWCLU, which has the sighting and control systems for the missile and is carried separately until needed for firing.

“The improvements reduce warfighter burden while delivering increased battlefield overmatch for the soldier,” Deneke said. It is 35 percent smaller, 25 percent lighter, boasts a 50 percent battery life increase and introduces a mid-wave IR sensor, a high-definition display with improved resolution, integrated handgrips, an 18 megapixel color camera, and modernized electronics, the RMS website says.

RMS also is working to make its combat-proven Excalibur 155mm guided artillery round “much more precise in terms of its guidance capabilities,” Deneke said.

And while RMS is rejuvenating the production line for its widely fielded 2nd Generation FLIR low-light sensors, “we’re working urgently to bring much needed capability to the Army with our 3rd gen FLIR program,” he said. The updates will improve the FLIR’s range and discrimination capabilities and continue to provide overmatch to pace the evolving threat of advanced armored vehicles and ATGMs.

Learn more about Raytheon Overmatch capabilities here.

This article is sponsored by Raytheon.