Bradley Fighting Vehicle. Image – U.S. Army photo by Spc. Randis Monroe/Released
The U.S. Army selected General Dynamics Land Systems and American Rheinmetall Vehicles to move forward on Phase 3 of the Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle (OMFV) program, which is slated to replace the Bradley infantry fighting vehicle.
The service awarded two contracts with a combined value of about $1.6 billion for the program, which has been now redesignated as the XM30 Mechanized Infantry Combat Vehicle program. American Rheinmetall Vehicles was awarded an $812.6 million contract, while General Dynamics Land Systems was awarded a $768.7 million contract. Overall, the program is reportedly valued at about $45 billion.
The winners’ digital designs will be employed to produce as many as 11 prototypes for testing under Phase 4 (prototype build and test). Government testing will follow around 2026. Phase 5 (production and fielding) is to result in a single low-rate initial production (LRIP) contract by 2027 for production and testing, with initial fielding to follow by 2029.
The Phase 2 competitors list included BAE Systems (teamed with Elbit Systems of America), General Dynamics (teamed with AeroVironment, Applied Intuition, and GM Defense), American Rheinmetall (teamed with Raytheon Technologies, L3Harris Technologies, Textron Systems, and Allison Transmission), Oshkosh (teamed with Hanwha), and Point Blank Enterprises. The Army awarded each competitor a $26.6 million contract in July 2021 for OMPV Phase 2 concept design, which ran through 2023 up to the award of the current contract.
A military history enthusiast, Richard began at Forecast International as editor of the World Weapons Weekly newsletter. As the Internet grew in importance as a research tool, he helped design the company's Forecast Intelligence Center and currently coordinates the EMarket Alert newsletters for clients. Richard also manages social media efforts, including two new blogs: Defense & Security Monitor, covering defense systems and international issues, and Flight Plan, which focuses on commercial aviation and space systems. For over 30 years, Richard has authored the Defense & Aerospace Companies, Volume I (North America) and Volume II (International) services. The two books provide detailed data on major aerospace and defense contractors. He also edits the International Contractors service, a database that tracks all the contractors involved in the programs covered in the FI library. More recently he was appointed Manager, Information Services Group (ISG), a new unit that encompasses developing outbound content for both Forecast International and Military Periscope.
