Get a grip, the Army Futures Command chief said: It’s way too early to start second-guessing the Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle program.

With the surprise disqualification of the Raytheon-Rheinmetall Lynx, the Army has effectively left itself with one competitor for the Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle, General Dynamics — unless the Pentagon or Congress intervene.

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… Keep reading →

BAE System’s CV90 Mark IV is the latest upgrade of a 25-year-old vehicle widely used in Europe; the Rheinmetall-Raytheon Lynx is an all-new design, although individual components have a good track record; but the General Dynamics Griffin III is in the middle, combining a new gun and new electronics with the time-tested chassis from the European ASCOD family.

AUSA: The Marines want their Armored Reconnaissance Vehicle to carry a scout drone that can look for threats and target them with loitering strike missiles or drones. Now General Dynamics Land Systems and drone maker AeroVironment are teaming up to offer the same built-in drone for future Army vehicles. The two companies announced here today that they’ve… Keep reading →

After the Army’s director armored vehicle modernization raises concerns about weight, the companies respond with new details.

The Army plans to move at least $25 billion over the next five years from low-priority programs to preparing for major war. That includes developing a wide variety of new weapons, from high-speed aircraft, to partially-robotic armored vehicles, to a long-ranged 6.8 millimeter rifle to replace the venerable M16/M4 family and its controversial 5.56 mm round.

By 2022, the service plans to field new advanced reactive armor tiles to neutralize incoming warheads, a laser early warning system to warn crews they’re being targeted, and a signature management effort to avoid detection in the first place.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hg9cbi7aEfY German arms maker Rheinmetall is rolling out a new Active Protection System (APS) it says should lay Army safety concerns about such systems to rest. The Army is rushing to install anti-missile defenses on its armored vehicles but remains concerned about whether they might accidentally shred nearby civilians or friendly troops. The Rheinmetall system has been tested… Keep reading →