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16 Oct 24. Soldiers want more out of the Army’s new Infantry Squad Vehicles. Army infantry units have recognized the utility of the Infantry Squad Vehicle beyond its core task of carrying troops into battle, leading the service to consider additional configurations of the ride, according to a senior service official.
“We have a nine-seat variant,” Lt. Gen. Karl Gingrich, of the Army G-8 staff, told Defense News in an interview at the Pentagon. “We know that’s not the right configuration or the only configuration.”
The GM Defense-built ISV is in the inventory of three Brigade Combat Teams, where soldiers have put the vehicles to the test in large-scale training rotations. Earlier this year, the Army shipped several vehicles to remote islands in the Pacific where Defense News observed one being driven onto a CH-47 Chinook helicopter during an exfiltration mission.
The Army’s Maneuver Center of Excellence is now compiling lessons learned. “We are looking at what do we need. A five-seater for a kind of reconnaissance version? Do we need some sort of weapons carrier? I know eventually we’re probably going to get into some launched effects capabilities on there. I’m assuming that’s the direction we’re going.”
GM Defense won the contract to build ISV in June 2020. The program was approved for full-rate production in April 2023 and the Army currently plans to buy a total of 2,593 ISVs over the course of the program. Many of the vehicles have been delivered to the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions.
While the Army has only purchased the troop carrier variant, the Canadian Army is a customer of the utility version that allows for flexible space in the back to add various weapon systems. Ottawa has purchased 100 of the vehicles to take on deployment to Europe as part of the country’s NATO mission, JD Johnson, GM Defense vice president of business development, said last month.
Canada is the lead nation in Latvia for an alliance troop presence there aimed at deterring a Russian attack.
“We built a version of the ISV that is a utility vehicle because what we found out really quickly, and we knew that the troops would, is their soldiers all jump into ISVs and take off and, guess what, their mortars or counter-[unmanned aircraft systems], that stuff can’t keep up with them,” JD Johnson said.
GM Defense officials said they were confident the Army would similarly find the utility variant useful as part of the program of record, or the overall buy. “That’s very clear. They’ve signaled that strongly. Now they just have to get through their bureaucratic humps to get there,” Pete Johnson, vice president of business development for integrated vehicles, said.
The company is also seeing a growing international interest. GM Defense is planning to enter the ISV in a U.K. competition centered on land mobility. The British Army has already test-driven the vehicles at the National Training Center at the beginning of the year, according to JD Johnson.
The United Arab Emirates also wants to buy them, JD Johnson said. “We have a tender from them right now. Angola wants to buy them. We have a tender from them right now. There are countries that are struggling with their own capacity as everybody is upgrading their militaries. You see this as a way for contributing to Ukraine,” he added. “We’ve had inquiries from a couple different countries saying, ‘If we could buy 100 or so vehicles, how quickly could we get them?’”
The ISV, which is produced in Concord, North Carolina, was built with plenty of room to grow, JD Johnson noted. “If you were to go to Concord right now, you’d see in the neighborhood of 60 of these vehicles there waiting to be delivered to a customer.”
The other services are also considering the ISV for things like base defense, in the case of the Air Force, and for other things like rescue missions, Pete Johnson said.
At the Association of the U.S. Army, GM Defense is showing the ISV’s potential role in the Army’s push to establish human-machine integrated formations. The ISV on the exposition floor will be set up as a control vehicle for a robotics and autonomy platoon that is towing a Small Multipurpose Equipment Transport robot and hauling a Silent Tactical Energy Enhanced Dismount military cart, or STEED. (Source: Defense News Early Bird/Defense News)
16 Oct 24. L3Harris Introduces New Autonomous Ground Vehicle. L3Harris Technologies (NYSE:LHX) debuted its new autonomous reconnaissance and security vehicle system, Diamondback™, at the Association of the United States Army’s annual meeting this week.
“We are expanding our platform and mission system autonomy capabilities, from air and sea, to support robotic vehicles making first contact with threats in land environments,” said Ed Zoiss, President, Space and Airborne Systems, L3Harris. “The Diamondback prototype is easily reconfigurable, highly mobile and rapidly scalable due to its modular and open systems architecture as well as its focus on commercial components and mobility.”
Diamondback’s open development approach improves the ability to ramp up production, reduces costs, increases maintainability and accelerates the speed of technology insertions that support adaptation for evolving missions.
L3Harris designed Diamondback to complement existing classes of robotic vehicles and fill roles and cost profiles associated with manned vehicles. The company is partnering with Overland AI, an autonomous ground mobility business, that is providing its off-road, cross country vehicle navigation technology for the Diamondback’s mission systems. (Source: ASD Network)
16 Oct 24. US Army aims to pick a robotic combat vehicle vendor next spring. The Army plans to choose next spring one winner out of four vendors competing to build the base platform for its Robotic Combat Vehicle, or RCV, according to Maj. Gen. Glenn Dean, program executive officer for ground combat systems.
A year ago, the Army selected McQ, Textron Systems, General Dynamics Land Systems and Oshkosh Defense to design and build prototypes for the system.
The Army decided then to adjust its pursuit of three robotic combat vehicles of different sizes, moving forward instead with a single size that can keep up with crewed combat vehicles, Dean said at the time. And then the Army would equip the platform with different mission payloads to fill specific battlefield roles.
Each vendor delivered two prototypes in August, and all of the prototypes are now at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, Dean said.
“We’re on track to down-select in about the March timeframe from those four vendors to one and that’ll give us the base platform,” Dean said.
The chosen vendor will deliver eight prototypes for the next phase. “Then once we have that, that vendor will actually do another prototype spin. … We’ve tiered the requirements so they’re going to add some new requirements when they go into the second prototypes.”
While Dean said he prefers to keep as many vendors in a development effort as long as possible, funding is always a consideration. “It does come down to money. There’s a profile that we have to stay within. Unfortunately, the profile that we have really almost only allowed us to retain one. We looked at at least two and then that was still outside what we were able to afford.”
Who’s in control?
The Army has also settled on the Armored Multipurpose Vehicle, or AMPV, as the designated control vehicle for the robots, chosen because the control vehicle needs to keep up with the first unit designated to receive the robots, which will be a platoon in an Armored Brigade Combat Team, according to Col. Kevin Bradley, who is in charge of next-generation combat vehicle modernization within Army Futures Command.
The service looked at a number of concepts for a control vehicle from Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles to Stryker combat vehicles to even a truck-based one, but “the user community gelled on what they wanted,” Dean said.
A unit that has been working through how to operate and fight with RCVs at the National Training Center, for one, said using a control vehicle that was different from anything else in the formation became “very easy to target,” and the opposing force in a recent training event would go after the control vehicle easily to take the robots, according to Bradley.
The RCV’s first fielding is expected in fiscal 2028, which means the control vehicle will need to go under contract in FY25 because the AMPV has a two-year production lead time. Then from FY27 to FY28, the integration work to make it a control vehicle will occur, Dean detailed.
Tough road
While the RCV base platform prototyping and the control vehicle effort is moving forward smoothly, the Army’s work to develop off-road autonomy software is proving more difficult.
In June the Army conducted an off-road autonomy software assessment. “The good news is we are moving forward in that area. The bad news is industry is nowhere near where people think in terms of off-road autonomy. There’s still a lot of development to do,” Dean said.
The Army plans to hold another evaluation in December which will become routine in order to continue software development.
Three companies are working directly with the Bradley’s Next-Generation Combat Vehicle Cross Functional Team and PEO GCS on autonomy capability – Forterra, Kodiak Robotics and Overland AI.
So far the evaluations for autonomous behavior haven’t even been truly off-road, Dean said. “We’re talking trails and unimproved road conditions. Building an autonomy algorithm that can identify the entire range of things it might encounter is challenging because you have a pretty big data set.”
The evaluation in June took place at Fort Cavazos, Texas, and in one instance the robot needed to cross a creek at the bottom of a hill and would need to navigate a series of switchbacks to get down. “It couldn’t navigate the switchbacks,” Dean said.
“We are still working through the negative obstacle problem. You see a dip ahead of you. It could be a puddle, I can drive right through it, or it could be a cliff, and the sensors sometimes have difficulty evaluating what’s safe to navigate,” he said.
The evaluation in June involved too much human intervention, Dean said, but it’s still better than having to tele-operate a system continuously and deal with latency issues at certain ranges and speeds.
Overall, based off a major training event at Fort Irwin, California, this summer “we saw that robots provided benefits to the organization particularly in the reconnaissance and security role for long-duration observation and security posts,” Bradley said.
But the service is still working through tradeoffs with power, range and the ability to make decisions at a distance and the desired level of control, he added.
“That was really what we were trying to tease out, that math problem of you want to be able to see 4K video to make decisions of shoot, don’t shoot, to maintain that kind of ethical high ground, then that requires a certain amount of bandwidth that’s impacting how far you can go, also impacts how much control you have,” Bradley said. (Source: glstrade.com/Defense News)
14 Oct 24. Oshkosh Defense LLC, an Oshkosh Corporation [NYSE: OSK] business, exhibited at the Association of the United States Army’s (AUSA) annual meeting in Washington, D.C., from October 14 – 16, 2024. In Booth #7027, Oshkosh will showcase the advanced autonomous technology of the U.S. Marine Corps’ Remotely Operated Ground Unit for Expeditionary Fires (ROGUE-Fires) and the U.S. Army’s Stryker Double V Hull with the Oshkosh Defense 30mm Medium Caliber Weapon System (MCWS) integrated with a Javelin anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) launcher capability.
Remotely Operated Ground Unit for Expeditionary Fires (ROGUE-Fires)
ROGUE-Fires is an unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) that leverages the Oshkosh JLTV’s extreme off-road mobility and payload capacity and advanced autonomous vehicle technologies to support Ground-Based Anti-Ship Missile (GBASM) operations. Designed to operate in both teleoperated and fully autonomous modes, ROGUE-Fires serves as a versatile launch platform capable of handling various weapon payloads or performing distributed logistics operations. Oshkosh announced the contract to begin low-rate initial production from the Marine Corps Systems Command in October 2023.
“Developed for the U.S. Marine Corps, ROGUE-Fires is redefining operational capabilities in contested environments,” said Pat Williams, chief programs officer at Oshkosh Defense. “Our team is excited to demonstrate how this next-generation technology is transitioning into fielded systems and how it can be adapted to meet the mission needs of the Army.”
Stryker Double V Hull with the Oshkosh Defense 30mm Medium Caliber Weapon System
The Oshkosh Defense MCWS is a transformational lethality solution that provides Stryker Brigade Combat Teams (SBCTs) with improved firepower and increased accuracy at longer engagement ranges. Oshkosh will demonstrate the system’s advanced adaptability through integration of a Javelin ATGM launcher capability. The Oshkosh MCWS completed Follow-on Operational Test and Evaluation (FOT&E) in May 2024. An integral part of the acquisition process, FOT&E allowed Soldiers an opportunity to evaluate the system under realistic operational conditions. To date, Oshkosh has delivered over 100 systems to support fielding in early 2025.
“Since the MCWS contract award in 2021, Oshkosh has partnered with the Army to incorporate features specifically designed for the Stryker mission,” continued Williams. “Soldier feedback has played a significant role in shaping the requirements of the MCWS that we are delivering today, and we look forward to showcasing it during AUSA.”
11 Oct 24. North Macedonia reduces procurement of Stryker IFVs. North Macedonia is reducing the number of Stryker infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) it is procuring from 54 to 42, with deliveries planned for 2025, recently appointed Defence Minister Vlado Misajlovski said in a press conference in Skopje on 9 October.
A Ministry of Defence (MoD) spokesperson told Janes on 11 October that the number of Strykers was reduced “based on the needs of the Army of the Republic of North Macedonia” following a study and comparative analysis by experts.
Misajlovski said that 73% of the MKD18 bn (USD320 m) defence budget for 2024 had been spent by 1 October and that the 2025 defence budget would total MKD23 bn, or 2.4% of GDP, a 27.7% increase. Around MKD8.5 bn of this amount will be spent on modernising and equipping the army, MKD3 bn more than in 2024, with 30% of the 2025 budget planned for wages and benefits, according to Misajlovski.
Misajlovski reported that North Macedonia currently has received 38 out of the 96 Joint Light Tactical Vehicles (JLTVs) it is procuring, with the remaining 58 to be delivered by the end of 2025.
He expected the delivery of Boran 105 mm Air Transportable Light Towed Howitzers (ATLTHs) from Turkey during the first quarter of 2025.
Misajlovski noted that North Macedonia is procuring four AW149 and four AW169 helicopters and that the Czech Republic is overhauling two Mi-8MT helicopters, with deliveries of the latter delayed from May to November. (Source: Google/Janes)
17 Oct 24. Lithuania boosts Boxer Vilkas fleet by nearly 30% through OCCAR. The Baltic State have completed the first batch of more than 100 Boxers before it prepares to enhance the IFV further with an engineering variant module.
The Lithuanian Army will induct 27 new Boxer Infantry Fighting Vehicles (IFVs) according to a new contract signed by the Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation (OCCAR) on behalf of the Baltic State. Credit: OCCAR.
Anew batch of Wolves – or ‘Vilkas’, as the 8×8 Boxer vehicle is designated in Lithuania – will enter service with the Baltic State in the coming years.
On behalf of the government, the Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation (OCCAR), Europe’s defence programme overseer, has ordered 27 more Boxer Infantry Fighting Vehicles (IFVs) in addition to the Army’s existing fleet, currently 91 strong according to GlobalData intelligence.
The amendment itself boosts the nation’s first batch of IFVs by 30%, despite Lithuania quadrupling the number of IFVs it had over the last three years.
The Ministry of National Defence confirmed that the latest order concludes the first phase of the Boxer acquisition which began when Lithuania first received the platform in 2019, after joining the programme in 2016.
Other participating nations include Germany, the Netherlands and the UK. So far OCCAR have ordered more than 1,300 Boxers from the original equipment manufacturer ARTEC, a German joint venture between KNDS and Rheinmetall.
In total, the amendment will cost up to €370m ($402.4m) which also covers supplementary and logistical enablers – spares, maintenance equipment, training courses. The government anticipates these units to arrive between 2027-2029.
Boxer Vilkas
The Vilkas is a platform based on the German Boxer IFV model, according to OCCAR. While 89 units are the baseline configuration, two more are prototype variants.
Each Lithuanian vehicle is equipped with Israeli-made remote weapon station turrets, US-made 30mm Mk-44S cannons and Israel’s Spike long-range anti-tank missiles, as well as other integrated specialised equipment and electronic systems. According to the government, Lithuania is the first operator to incorporate the 30mm gun on a Boxer.
On 24 February 2024, the Vilkas completed a Live Firing Test that effectively marked the close of the nation’s first phase of Boxers, albeit the 27 additional units are part of this batch.
Two batalions in the ‘Iron Wolf’ mechanised infantry brigade operate the armoured vehicle. In January 2024, the former Lithuanian Minister of National Defence, Arvydas Anušauskas, commented:
“The IFVs are now capable of destroying [main battle] tanks and other heavy armoured targets with [Israeli] Spike missiles and [they can also] neutralise smaller, lighter or non-armoured targets with the 30mm cannon at the same time.”
The IFVs are now capable of destroying tanks with Spike missiles and neutralise smaller, lighter targets with the 30mm cannon at the same time.
Arvydas Anušauskas, former Lithuanian Minister of National Defence
Iron Wolf is a core part of the Lithuanian Army, and it forms part of Nato’s collective defence on the alliance’s Eastern Flank against an increasingly belligerent neighbour, Russia, whose two-and-a-half year invasion of Ukraine still hangs in the balance.
Lithuania and Russia share a border that stretches 185 miles in all – including a 14 mile sea border with the Kaliningrad enclave, making the Baltic nation vulnerable on both sides.
Looking ahead
Now that the first batch of Boxers are complete, OCCAR is already starting to look ahead to where it can enhance the Lithuanian fleet further. In that spirit, the European watchdog announced that a new variant will become available in the coming years that will particularly benefit the Eastern European country.
“An engineering variant will be developed and will provide the Lithuanian Army with significantly improved tactical mobility, directly integrating engineering equipment (such as that used for mine clearance) into the existing Lithuanian IFV configuration.”
While it is always important to provide infantry with armoured protection and direct fires for the infantry, it is also vital to enable the vehicle to withstand challenges in the battlespace. Thus, OCCAR are learning lessons from Ukraine when it comes to sustaining a ground vehicle on land littered by mines and other obstacles.
The Russian invasion resulted in the mining of more than 174,000 square kilometres of Ukrainian territory, or more than 28% of the country. Since the invasion began Ukraine has gradually become more responsive to the hidden threat with the help of a Capability Coalition of Western backers.
Leading the way, Lithuania announced its latest commitment of aid to Ukraine which included M113 armoured personnel carriers. User can fit additional armour into the M113, such as a mine protective kit under the hull. The US first delivered this application in 1966 with a newly developed variant of the carrier.
Following suit, another Baltic State, Latvia, gifted the Scimitar CVR(T) vehicles to Ukraine. The seats are protected from mine blasts and the increased space envelope provides comfortable working conditions for the crew.
It is likely that the forthcoming Vilkas engineering module will incorporate a heavier payload capacity to respond to mines.
(Source: army-technology.com)
16 Oct 24. ‘Get well’: Army’s upgunned Stryker approaches first fielding but trio of problems linger.
“I want to make it very clear that the turret is not a mission essential system, if the turret was to go down, the vehicle is still mission capable,” said Clifton Boyd, the project manager for the Stryker brigade combat team.
The US Army is on track to begin receiving upgunned Stryker vehicles early next year, but there are several lingering deficiencies that will need to be addressed down the road, according to a pair of service officials.
The service has had fits and starts integrating a 30mm cannon onto Double V–Hull A1 Stryker infantry carrier vehicles, including software-driven issues that prompted a slight delay in fielding the system, formally the Medium Caliber Weapon System (MCWS) program. Production verification testing has now been completed and the Army is poised to begin delivering the vehicles to soldiers next year.
However, testing showed three key fixes need to be made.
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“[We’re] actually going to work as fast as we can to get them fixed, but as part of our material release process, we have to submit a ‘get well’ plan to the Army, and that ‘get well’ plan allows us to have up to three years,” said Clifton Boyd, the project manager for the Stryker brigade combat team.
The three key issues to address, Boyd said, are “software glitches” with the display that continue to crop up, light emission through vehicle seams, and a casing ejection problem that leaves rounds rolling around on the deck of the vehicle or can “jam” the turret. That last issue is the most notable, because if not corrected, it potentially leaves soldiers without a cannon on a battlefield — the entire purpose of the vehicle upgrade.
Boyd, however, downplayed the severity of the problem, saying the true purpose of the vehicle is to move soldiers across the battlefield, with the gun more of a nice-to-have than must-have for the Stryker’s core operational purpose.
“I want to make it very clear that the turret is not a mission essential system, if the turret was to go down, the vehicle is still mission capable… because it delivers infantry soldiers to the fight,” Boyd told reporters on Tuesday
The service and Oshkosh, Boyd said, are still working on the fixes and will have up to three years to roll them out.
In an interview with Breaking Defense today, Oshkosh Defense’s chief programs officer Pat Williams said the company has not yet seen the test report but will receive it in November. At that point, he said, it will have more insights into thedetails of the problems outlined by Boyd, and can plan the road ahead.
Despite those issues, the Army still says it’s going forward with fielding the upgraded Strykers, with Oshkosh on contract to upgun 269 vehicles across three brigades. After recent force structure changes, the service 65 upgunned Strykers, with a third receiving 83. Another 20 vehicles are bound for the schoolhouses and testing, while the service is still deciding what to do with the remaining 36 vehicles.
“If we’re going to continue to increase lethality, we are always going to have to modernize, and we’re always going to have to make the system better than when the first soldier gets it,” said Col. Jerome Parker, the director for the Army’s Stryker brigade combat team capability shop. “So yes, this is what we have in 2024. In 2027 we need to make it better, but we need to continue to get that feedback from the force to make it better.” (Source: Breaking Defense.com)
15 Oct 24. New player in European tank production: Leonardo and Rheinmetall establish Joint Venture.
New battle tanks and infantry fighting vehicles for the Italian army
- 50:50 joint venture with headquarters in Rome and operational headquarters in La Spezia
- 60% of the activities will be carried out in Italy
- First goal is to equip the Italian armed forces with combat vehicles: the Italian Main Battle Tank (MBT) and the Lynx as an Armoured Infantry Combat System (AICS)
- Promising future export prospects
Leonardo and Rheinmetall have decided to establish a joint venture aiming at forming a new European nucleus for the development and production of military combat vehicles in Europe. The companies had already signed a corresponding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Rome at the beginning of July 2024.
Rheinmetall AG and Leonardo S.p.A. will be equal shareholders (50% each) in the new company Leonardo Rheinmetall Military Vehicles (LRMV), which will have its legal headquarters in Rome and an operational headquarter in La Spezia. The definition of the agreement and the establishment of the company, which will be expected by the first quarter 2025, are subjected to usual regulatory approvals for this sort of operation.
The primary goal of the joint venture is the industrial development and subsequent marketing of the new Italian main battle tank (MBT) and the new Lynx platform for the Armoured Infantry Combat System (AICS) programme as part of the Italian Army’s programme for land systems. The development and production of other vehicles of this family, such as recovery, engineer and bridge-laying vehicles, is also planned. Both partners also expect their joint products to provide extensive sales opportunities in international markets.
Armin Papperger, CEO of Rheinmetall AG: “We are creating a new heavyweight in European tank production. Leonardo and Rheinmetall, two leading European suppliers of defence technology, are joining forces to carry out ambitious projects. We are primarily addressing the Italian market, but we will also be targeting other partner nations which are in need of modernising their combat systems in the future. Rheinmetall has the perfect technologies for Italy’s requirements.”
Roberto Cingolani, CEO of Leonardo: “This is a significant step towards the creation of a European defense system based on specialized shared platforms. Rheinmetall and Leonardo aim at developing state-of-the-art technologies able to compete at international level.”
The Panther KF51 developed by Rheinmetall will be the basis for the new main battle tank to replace the Ariete in the Italian army. The Italian AICS programme involves the procurement of over 1,000 armoured combat systems in 16 variants in the future. In addition to the classic infantry fighting vehicle, there will be anti-aircraft (Skyranger), reconnaissance and anti-tank versions. All models will have a modular design and the Rheinmetall Lynx infantry fighting vehicle shall form the technological basis.
A 50:50 sharing of labour was agreed for the joint venture, with 60% of the work to be carried out in Italy. This concerns in particular final assembly, homologation testing, delivering activities and logistic support. Within the MBT and AICS programs, mission systems, electronics suites and weapons integration will be developed and produced by Leonardo according to the requirements of the Italian client.
Rheinmetall already operates three subsidiaries with a total of around 1,500 employees at five sites in Italy.
13 Oct. 24. GM Defense pitches silent-drive vehicle as heir to the Humvee. Emerging rapidly out of dense foliage, a truck swings around a bend on a washboard gravel road, but the only sound is the crunch of gravel beneath tires and the occasional ping of a rock hitting its underside. The truck is a new hybrid vehicle that GM Defense has developed to show the Army what is possible for a Humvee-type capability that meets the needs of modern warfare. The Army does not yet have a requirement for a new Humvee, or High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle, or something else to replace the 40-year-old vehicle with 50-year-old technology.
But the Humvee, while a longtime workhorse for the Army, is becoming an increasingly unsafe platform. Rollovers have plagued the fleet, resulting in a rise in deaths from the accidents in recent years, which spurred the implementation of some safety measures. The Army has replaced some Humvees with the newer Joint Light Tactical Vehicles, but the service wants to retain a slightly smaller vehicle akin to the Humvee in its inventory, scaling back plans to go whole hog on JLTV within the vehicle size segment.
GM Defense has designed what it’s calling the Next-Generation Tactical Vehicle, taking the Chevy Silverado truck and the same Duramax engine used in the U.S. Army’s Infantry Squad Vehicle and pairing it with an electric battery capable of producing roughly 300 kilowatt hours of power output and a 15-gallon fuel tank.
“Think about the technology that was the foundation for Humvee,” JD Johnson, GM Defense vice president of business development, said in a recent interview at General Motors Milford Proving Ground. “The automotive industry has moved way on from that and our soldiers deserve [more], not just from the driveability and performance, but from the ability to support all their various missions.”
Silverados come off the production line every 54 seconds. The company added an offroad package to the truck and maximized commercial-off-the-shelf features, according to Pete Johnson, GM Defense vice president of business development for integrated vehicles.
GM also integrated “a myriad” of different advanced technologies from some of its electric vehicle programs, including the Hummer EV, and incorporated lessons garnered from its successful rapid production of the Infantry Squad Vehicle, which used a Chevy Colorado chassis, Pete Johnson added.
While the vehicle still uses an engine now familiar to U.S. soldiers, it incorporates energy storage and the ability to use that energy to both drive and power other systems to enhance the Army both from an operational and sustainment perspective, Pete Johnson said.
Because of the electric-power capabilities, the vehicle can operate at low thermal and acoustic signatures.
“If you look at Ukraine, the fight going on right now, one of the risks is if they find you, they can kill you,” Pete Johnson said. Ukrainian soldiers started evacuating casualties from the frontlines with non-tactical vehicles because they were quieter than military vehicles, the company learned from those on the ground, he added.
The technology in GM’s new ride allows for silent drive, Pete Johnson said, meaning the vehicle is able to power systems without idling an engine. In the vehicle, the driver can switch between “silent mode” and regular engine mode with the flip of a switch.
The electric battery also helps decrease the battery requirements for units on the battlefield. The Army has gone from a platoon carrying roughly 48 lbs of batteries in Desert Storm and Desert Shield to carrying 1,200 lbs of batteries. “It’s unreal, the amount of kit now that requires energy,” Pete Johnson said.
The company has also incorporated instantaneous torque technology that allows for effective and agile offroad capability, according to Pete Johnson. The design reduces sustainment burdens and logistics tails because hybrid electric vehicles use fewer parts and less fuel and other batteries on the battlefield, he added.
The company also took safety into account in a number of ways, Pete Johnson said. “We’re disheartened every time we read an article where a soldier, marine, sailor is killed by a rollover … but we’re taking the best modern technology … and we’re building integrated rollover protection systems,” he said.
The Infantry Squad Vehicle already has that capability.
While electronic stability control and antilock brakes are in every single vehicle produced since 2012, “there’s almost no military vehicles that have that,” Pete Johnson said. While the Army has been applying add-on kits to Humvees, that DNA is embedded in the proposed Next-Generation Tactical Vehicle, he said.
The vehicle is transportable in a C-130 and C-17 aircraft and can be sling-loaded by a CH-47 Chinook cargo helicopter or an MH-53 King Stallion helicopter.
GM Defense is showing the vehicle at the Association of the U.S. Army’s annual conference in Washington. The floor model incorporates a Kongsberg remote weapon station, a Lockheed Martin Javelin anti-tank missile launcher and a Drone Buster to counter unmanned aircraft system threats in the back along with a Hoverfly tethered drone for reconnaissance.
“All of that is one platform that you really couldn’t do today” with the power sources onboard vehicles, Pete Johnson said. (Source: Defense News)
14 Oct 24. Flyer Defense announced the signing of a strategic agreement with Tekne, a leading Italian defense solutions provider, to jointly manufacture and supply the Flyer 72-Heavy Duty (Flyer 72-HD) tactical ground mobility vehicle to the Italian Armed Forces and other NATO allies. This collaboration combines the expertise of both companies to deliver the internally and externally air transportable, high-mobility vehicle that meets the unique operational needs of Italy’s military.
The Flyer 72-HD and it’s ruggedized engineering offers exceptional off-road performance and mission-tailored flexibility, making it highly effective for specialized operations. Through this partnership, Flyer and Tekne will establish local manufacturing and support capabilities within Italy, ensuring efficient delivery, long-term sustainment, and seamless integration of the vehicle into the Italian defense landscape.
“We are excited to collaborate with Tekne and bring the Flyer 72 HD to Italy as well as other NATO-allied countries,” said Flyer Defense Founder and CEO, Oded Nechushtan. “This partnership represents a significant step forward in expanding our international presence, while reinforcing our commitment to growing our U.S. manufacturing capabilities. We will continue to manufacture in the United States, as well as establish a local production base in Italy.”
16 Oct 24. US Army moves ahead on plans to replace storied Bradley Fighting Vehicle. Two industry teams competing to design a Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle replacement have completed preliminary design reviews, clearing a hurdle ahead of the next milestone in 2025, Maj. Gen. Glenn Dean, Army program executive officer for ground combat systems, said.
American Rheinmetall Vehicles and General Dynamics Land Systems were chosen from a pool of bidders in June 2023 to continue into a detailed design phase of the XM30 Mechanized Infantry Combat Vehicle.
Both teams are designing a hybrid vehicle featuring a suite of lethal capabilities to include a 50mm cannon, a remote turret, anti-tank guided missiles, machine guns employed through an advanced third-generation, forward-looking infrared sensor, an integrated protection suite, kitted armor, and signature management capabilities as well as intelligent fire control, according to Army officials.
The total value of both contracts is approximately $1.6 bn; the overall program is expected to be worth about $45 bn, according to the Army.
The last preliminary design review wrapped up in August, and the service will have a quick turnaround to complete critical design reviews in order to begin building physical prototypes, Dean said in an interview ahead of the Association of the U.S. Army’s annual conference this week.
“At that point [when] the design is final, all of the elements and parts are defined, and at that point the contractor is ordering all their material to build prototypes,” Dean said.
Prototypes will take 18 to 20 months to construct after the critical design reviews wrap up. Once prototypes are delivered, the Army will move into a test and evaluation phase with both competitors before deciding on a winner in fiscal 2027. The first vehicles are expected to be fielded in fiscal 2029.
The Army is moving on an aggressive schedule between completion of a preliminary design review and a critical design review, Dean said.
Such a schedule is possible because of the designs taking place in a digital engineering environment and frequent soldier touch points in physical and virtual mockups, Col. Kevin Bradley, who is in charge of combat vehicle modernization within Army Futures Command, said in the same interview.
“Having soldiers get in and actually see what the seating in the back looked like, how their evacuation drills would go, definitely was beneficial to both vendors in giving them feedback to help adjust designs to better suit what we were looking for in the requirements,” he said.
“I would say we’ve had everything from small user interface changes up to, in one case, at least a fairly significant structural change to the base design,” Dean said. “There are some fairly dramatic shifts, and this is the time to do them.”
American Rheinmetall Defense’s team includes Textron Systems, RTX, L3Harris Technologies and Allison Transmission as well as artificial intelligence-focused company Anduril Technologies.
GDLS is teamed up with GM Defense; Applied Intuition, a specialist in modeling and simulating autonomy for the automobile industry; and AeroVironment, which is providing its Switchblade loitering munitions for integration into the design. GDLS also continues to work with General Dynamics Mission Systems to incorporate networks, radio gear and cyber capabilities. (Source: Defense News)
11 Oct 24. A 226-tonne steel superstructure is being delivered at Warminster Garrison to support the British Army’s Armoured Cavalry programme, commonly known as AJAX.
The AJAX programme will deliver a family of tracked, all-terrain, digitally-enabled vehicles with a range of weapons and sensors, delivering transformational change in capability to the British Army. The £17 m infrastructure project at Warminster Garrison will provide a synthetic training facility to support AJAX Regiments based within Salisbury Plain. The project is being delivered by Aspire Defence on behalf the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO).
Following the start of construction in October 2023, the internal fit-out of the building is now underway in preparation for installation of the AJAX simulation capability next year. The building is on track to complete in autumn 2025 and will support a suite of state-of-the-art driver, gunnery and crew trainers. This will enable ‘real-world’ training to military personnel who will be in operation of AJAX vehicles, with the Royal Dragoon Guards as custodians of the facility.
Brigadier Pete Quaite OBE, Head of Infra Plans, said: “The Warminster Garrison AJAX facility is progressing at an impressive pace and will deliver a critical capability to the army. This project demonstrates the significant investment underway across our estate to modernise our training infrastructure and deliver benefits for our people.”
Colonel Jamie Hayward, Armoured Cavalry Programme Director, said: “This new infrastructure is a vital component of the AJAX programme. It allows the appropriate technical solution to train our Service Personnel and enables a reduction in running costs, platform wear and dependence on live training areas.”
Warren Webster, DIO MPP (Major Programmes and Projects) Director Army, said: “It is excellent to see the progress that has already been made on this impressive facility. Continued collaboration between our project team and Aspire Defence will ensure that construction remains on track, to meet the infrastructure requirements of the Army’s Armoured Cavalry programme.”
In addition to the Warminster Garrison project, AJAX infrastructure has already been delivered at Tidworth Garrison and Bulford Camp on Salisbury Plain Training Area, and at Bovington in Dorset, where the AJAX simulation capability is now being installed.
Allan Thomson, Chief Executive of Aspire Defence Ltd, said: “We are proud to be delivering this project for DIO to support the British Army, which showcases Aspire Defence’s ability to successfully deliver quality infrastructure on behalf of the Ministry of Defence and the army. This first-rate facility supports the contemporary vision of training that’s in keeping with the modern army and its readiness for today’s challenges.”
14 Oct 24. GM Defense, a subsidiary of General Motors, introduces its ‘Next Generation Tactical Vehicle”. Built on a larger truck platform than the Infantry Squad Vehicle, ‘Next Gen’ integrates a myriad of GM technologies enabling next gen capabilities that are unique to tactical vehicles currently available. The show-stopper is its propulsion system and the capabilities it delivers. The rugged tactical vehicle combines GM’s Duramax Turbo-Diesel engine with GM’s advanced battery technology, enabling energy storage, exportable power, Silent Watch, and Silent Drive capabilities. You literally don’t hear this big vehicle coming! In addition, the vehicle has active and passive safety features, including a roll-over protection system, electronic stability control, anti-lock braking, and 4/5-point seatbelt harnesses.
Additional key points:
- Offers 300 kWh of total energy
- Can support several days of Silent Watch and between 90-130 miles of Silent Drive, depending on road conditions (off- or on-road), weather and speed
- We anticipate a range of about 300 miles, utilizing all sources of power on the vehicle and depending on the enemy situation and road conditions, weather and speed
o For context, Infantry Squad Vehicle objective range was 250 miles on diesel power. This already exceeds the need for tactical mobility for extended range.
- The diesel engine can recharge the batteries twice. The battery can go from 20 to 80% charge in under an hour.
- Has curb weight of 10,000 lbs and can be sling loaded under a CH-47
In addition, Next Gen shares the same Duramax 2.8L turbo-diesel engine, parts and advanced battery technology from the GMC HUMMER EV and other GM’s advanced EVs. GM Defense plans to enable the user community to drive the rugged military solution in order to gather valuable feedback that will inform future designs.
14 Oct 24. Rheinmetall unveiled cutting-edge defense solutions at AUSA 2024: Pioneering innovations for modern military challenges.
Key facts
- Rheinmetall showcased numerous products and activities at AUSA 2024 from 14-16 October in Washington D.C., USA
- Highlights include the HX Heavy Recover Vehicle, S-MET concept UGV (recently awarded as one of two companies to develop prototypes), Mission Systems, Medium and Large Caliber Munitions, C-UAS Systems, Protection Systems, and many more products and solutions that enhance Warfighter capabilities.
American Rheinmetall Vehicles’ S-MET Prototype Vehicle – Program Winner
Recently down selected for the first phase in the Army’s Small Multi-Purpose Equipment Transport (S-MET) Increment II Vehicle Program, American Rheinmetall Vehicles’ S-MET prototype is a modular, unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) design that ensures rapid development and systems integration. Rheinmetall’s 20+ years of UGV experience delivers an S-MET that meets Army requirements for overall range, silent mode, sustained speed, forward & reverse grade, side slope, trench, fording, and stair/step climb. The S-MET solution displayed includes proven, fielded, mature subsystem solutions like Moog’s advanced Flexible Mission Platform (FMP™) equipped with Javelin and Coyote effectors and Parry Labs’ Edge Compute (EC) Micro, for a truly modular and open architecture UGV that supports the dismounted infantry Soldier and represents the future of military robotics. The platform enables ample mission payload configurations for the U.S. Army including resupply, CASEVAC, c-UAS, and electronic warfare, and is suited to fully autonomous operations.
The HX Heavy Recovery Vehicle – More than a Truck.
As part of Rheinmetall’s HX family of tactical trucks, the HX Heavy Recovery Vehicle features high mobility, superior off-road performance, and a purpose built cab capable of interchanging between protected and unprotected versions. Among other exceptional capabilities, this battle-proven wheeled recovery vehicle delivers a capability perfectly suited to unmet recovery needs in the evolving Army infantry formation that will soon feature the M10 Booker medium weight tank bringing the full spectrum capability to provide recovery support to the tracked platform while not detracting from the critical mobility needs of infantry units. The recovery platform is built on Rheinmetall’s advanced HX truck chassis, part of the exceptional line of HX trucks also leveraged in American Rheinmetall Vehicles’ CTT platform solutions undergoing testing in the Army’s ongoing Common Tactical Truck program.
The RCH 155 Mobile Artillery System
Learn about American Rheinmetall Vehicles’ solution for the U.S. Army’s evolving Division Self-Propelled Enhance Artillery Requirement, the RCH 155 mobile artillery system, offered in partnership with KNDS and ARTEC. The RCH 155 integrates a fully automated Artillery Gun Module featuring Rheinmetall’s combat-proven, NATO JBMoU 155mm/L52 cannon system mounted on the highly mobile BOXER armored wheeled vehicle. Capable of firing 9 rounds a minute from a 30 round magazine, it can range beyond 58km with Rheinmetall’s extended range charges and projectiles. Its ability to shoot-on-the-move with a two-person crew make it the new standard for modern self-propelled artillery and ready to support the U.S. Army’s Artillery Modernization Strategy. Additionally, it was recently adopted by NATO allies, the UK, and Germany as their new cannon artillery system and will be fielded by the Ukrainian Army.
The Lynx XM30: Exceeding the Limits of Combat Vehicle Technology
Appropriately cleared personnel can engage with American Rheinmetall Vehicles regarding XM30 capabilities and technologies at AUSA. The Lynx XM30 features a lethal, unmanned 50mm turret with 3GEN FLIR, a highly maneuverable and compact chassis, advanced on-board protection systems integrating active protection, and an open systems architecture ensuring overmatch today and tomorrow. An augmented reality technology demonstrator will be available to cleared DoD personnel at the Rheinmetall booth. American Rheinmetall Vehicles is currently performing in Phase 3 and 4 of the program and preparing to deliver prototypes for Army testing.
Rheinmetall’s Electronic Mission Systems: Seamless. Networked. At the Edge.
Rheinmetall’s electronic vehicle systems’ solutions displayed on a mobile Systems Integration Lab (SIL) demo vehicle includes an interactive commander’s and gunner’s display of a TRL 9, fully integrated, modular and scalable combat vehicle system for EO/IR 360° Situational Awareness and Drivers Vision Enhancement, Rheinmetall’s Overview close proximity EO/SA system, a command and control station with displays and HMI tools, along with the Vingtaqs II, a long-range multi-sensor far target acquisition and location system. Additionally, Rheinmetall, and partner company blackned, are showcasing the features and benefits of blackned’s TacticalCore solution, which augments domain awareness by delivering resilient communications across a disparate network of unmanned and autonomous platforms in a contested communications battlefield.
The Skyranger 30mm c-UAS Turret and Airburst Munition
Skyranger is a highly mobile, lethal, and precise air defense system, capable of engaging modern battlefield threats, particularly highly agile or swarming small unmanned aerial targets. The 30x173mm Revolver Cannon® KCE-ABM and ground-to-air missiles offer a superior firepower solution for Soldier protection in the most austere operating environments. The modular system, shown as a scale model, provides best-in-class air defense in-line with the Army’s Air and Missile Defense modernization priority.
The Full Range of Rheinmetall’s World-Class Medium and Large Caliber Munitions
On display at AUSA will be Rheinmetall’s exceptional airburst ammunition capabilities and advanced artillery technologies, including Extended Range Top Charge propellant, Velocity-enhanced Long-Range Artillery Projectile (V-LAP) 155mm ammunition, and the 40mm Squad Support Weapon (the world’s first automatic, magazine-loaded, shoulder-fire grenade launcher). The artillery products have set world-records, and provide the lethality and range dominance desired for the Army’s tactical fires. Together, the full range of capabilities are closely aligned with the needs of the Army’s Long-Range Precision Fires and Soldier Lethality modernization priorities.
Rheinmetall welcomes visitors to AUSA booth #2249 to experience the Group’s offerings fitted for the Army’s future fighting force.
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TEK Military Seating Limited
TEK Military Seating Limited is a UK based designer and manufacturer of ProTEK military vehicle seating which offer the highest standards of safety and protection. The ProTEK brand is well respected across the globe for its robust construction, innovative design, built in modularity and cost effectiveness. Our superior products are supported by our experienced team who endeavor to offer unrivalled service to our customers from enquiry, through design and acceptance, to through life support.
From its inception ProTEK seats have been designed around a family of innovative seat frames onto which tested and certified modules can be fitted to create a bespoke solution for the user. These include Blast protection to Stanag 4569 standards, vibration reduction, head and body protection, seat risers and turntables, fore & aft adjustment, and seat back rake along with viable seat dimensions without the need for additional tooling costs.
Contact: Paul Fleming
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