The Army is gauging potential industry offerings for a new fire control sensor that would link up with the active protection systems (APS) the service is currently working to integrate across its vehicle fleet.
A new Request For Information released April 12 details plans to find a vehicle-based fire control sensor for APS platforms capable of tracking threats, including anti-tank guided missiles, kinetic energy weapons and rocket-propelled grenades, between ranges of 50 meters and two kilometers.
“This will enable the defeat of threats at a standoff distance that reduces or mitigates collateral damage risk to dismounted soldiers,” officials wrote in the notice. “It must be small, lightweight, affordable, and would be suitable for stationary and on-the-move operations.”
The Army’s search for APS capabilities on Bradleys, Strykers, Abrams tanks and next-generation combat vehicles has focused on integrating mature, ready-to-deploy capabilities to improve its fleet’s anti-tank missile capabilities, while building in capacity to take down future threats. The effort will also culminate in the Modular APS (MAPS) program to develop an open architecture system required to integrate sensors and control mechanisms across the various platforms.
Officials said the tactical fire control sensor could be mounted across its fleet, including Humvees, JLTVs, to relay critical threat data for APS hard-kill countermeasures.
The sensor is intended to detect and track multiple inbound and outbound targets while vehicles are on the move, including inbound threats from ranges up to two kilometers.
Objective requirements for the fire control sensor include operating without an external real-time surveillance cue and the ability to provide command guidance to counter-measures beyond the active protection system.
Responses to the RFI are expected to detail sensor designs and include a technology development timeline.
The Army recently tested APS offerings from Leonardo DRS and Germany’s Rheinmetall at a February demo, followed by announcement that the service may delay a decision on selecting a capability for a vehicle integration phase until 2020 (Defense Daily, Jan. 10).
Leonardo DRS’ TROPHY APS was previously selected as the APS for Army and Marine Corps Abrams tanks (Defense Daily, Jan. 8).
Iron Fist, built by Israel’s IMI Systems, has also been chosen as the APS solution for the Army’s Bradley fighting vehicles (Defense Daily, Dec. 14 2018).