The leader of the Army’s team to deliver its next-generation combat vehicles (NGCV) said the service has no plans to adjust the requirements for its Bradley-replacing Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle program as several vendors have opted to sit out of the competition.
Brig. Gen. Ross Coffman, director of the NGCV Cross-Functional Team, told attendees at Wednesday’s Defense News
conference that as the Army readies to accept proposals in October for OMFV’s prototype phase officials are reiterating that competition will reopen for the program’s production contract.
“There is no plan to adjust the requirements. We feel that our conversations with academia, with industry were taken very seriously by the government,” Coffman said. “We’re really looking forward to seeing what industry delivers. We feel that we’ve been open and transparent and we’ve listened.”
Coffman noted the extensive discussion with industry in the OMFV pre-proposal process to understand technology maturation levels and build in capacity to accept new capabilities that may still need to be developed.
OMFV is set to replace the Army’s Bradley fighting vehicles with a new platform incorporating an advanced turret, semi-autonomous capabilities and a range of sensors and technical capabilities geared for potential future fights with peer competitors.
“We laid the bar very, very high to industry, and then industry returned and said ‘hey, this where you’re chasing technology that’s not mature and that maturation is not going to occur along your schedule,’” Coffman said.
BAE Systems, which had considered offering its CV90 Mark IV platform, said in June it would sit out OMFV and instead focus efforts on its current work delivering a Mobile Protected Firepower prototype and future Robotic Combat Vehicle opportunities (Defense Daily, June 10).
Last month, SAIC [SAIC] told Defense Daily it also would not pursue OMFV as a prime contractor while officials noted the company is set to go after system integration opportunities for NGCV efforts (Defense Daily, Aug. 14).
Coffman reiterated the NGCV CFT will re-open the program for the eventual production contract to encourage companies to continue working on technology solutions for their platforms that may not be ready for October and the prototype period.
A production deal is likely to be awarded in the third quarter of FY ’23, with the Army looking to start fielding the new vehicles in 2026 (Defense Daily, Aug. 14).
“We believe, or a matter of fact I know, that if our requirements are met the Optionally-Manned Fighting Vehicle will not only be extremely better than the predecessor, the Bradley, but I believe it will be the best vehicle in the world,” Coffman said.