A newly designed 50-millimeter gun, a particular launcher that may hearth anti-tank weapons, a brand new hybrid transmission, cutting-edge sensor, and agile software program that may tie all the things collectively.
These are simply a few of the distinctive options of the armored car that American Rheinmetall Automobiles is pitching to the Military to switch the Bradley, a tracked fight car that has been within the stock for 4 a long time. Executives from Rheinmetall and different corporations on its group shared some particulars of their proposal with Protection One final week upfront of the Affiliation of the U.S. Military annual assembly in Washington this week. Whereas it’s uncommon for corporations to provide particulars of a proposal earlier than bids are due, the group intends to point out off a few of the know-how in its proposal throughout AUSA.
“We need to present the Military buyer 1. How dedicated we’re, 2. How assured they are often on this program, that they will get what they need within the transformational platform, and three. That we’re differentiated,” mentioned Stephen Hedger, CEO of American Rheinmetall Automobiles.
Rheinmetall and its 5 accomplice corporations, who go by “Staff Lynx,” wish to disrupt the U.S. armored car market that has been largely dominated by Common Dynamics Land Techniques and BAE Techniques. They argue that by profitable the Bradley substitute, which the Military calls the Optionally Manned Preventing Automobile, or OMFV, it could inject extra competitors, which, in flip, would result in higher know-how for troopers.
“You are going to get advances in know-how and you are going to get extra capability by way of the commercial base,” mentioned Matt Warnick, managing director of American Rheinmetall Automobiles. “Finally, and most significantly, I believe the competitors brings a greater functionality set to the soldier.”
Regardless that the Military isn’t anticipated to decide on a winner till 2027, an estimated $45 billion price ticket and 20 years of manufacturing serves as a robust motivation. Collectively, Staff Lynx has invested tens of thousands and thousands of {dollars} to design and develop its know-how, executives mentioned.
In July 2021, the Military awarded contracts to 5 corporations for digital designs of their proposals: Common Dynamics Land Techniques, BAE Techniques, Oshkosh Protection, American Rheinmetall Automobiles, and Level Clean Enterprises. Common Dynamics has partnered with GM Protection, AeroVironment, and Utilized Instinct; BAE Techniques has partnered with Elbit Techniques of America.
Bids for the following part of the bidding course of are due Nov. 1. The Military is predicted to decide on as much as three corporations to construct prototypes of their combating autos, which shall be extensively examined. The service just isn’t anticipated to decide on a winner till 2027. Your entire contract for 1000’s of the autos is estimated to be value $45 billion.
The brand new OMFV may have two crewmembers, one fewer than the Bradley, and will even function with no crew. It’ll additionally have the ability to transport as much as six troopers.
The armored car shall be “tasked to maneuver by way of the enemy’s safety zone as a part of a mixed arms group for the aim of making an advantageous place, relative to the enemy, and offering safety and direct hearth lethality whereas manned or remotely operated,” in line with the Congressional Analysis Service. “Within the shut battle, the OMFV permits the power of dismounted components to maneuver by detecting and destroying targets at a variety past the enemy’s functionality.”
It’s the third time the Military is making an attempt to switch Bradley—two prior efforts had been canceled. Over the last try in 2019, Germany-based Rheinmetall, which on the time was solely teamed with Raytheon, was unable to move a Lynx car from Germany to america as a result of bureaucratic hurdles. The Military disqualified the corporate’s bid. The service canceled an earlier try, in 2020, after it obtained a sole bid from Common Dynamics.
The additional time gave Rheinmetall time to construct a extra sturdy group and make investments in its U.S. amenities. In July, the corporate introduced it could open a 46,000-square-foot prototyping manufacturing facility in Sterling Heights, Michigan, creating between 125 and 150 new jobs over the following three years.
The group is placing ahead a closely modified model of the Lynx combating car, developed in Germany in the midst of the final decade. Referred to as Lynx OMFV, there are “vital modifications to the chassis” and different elements of the car, Warnick mentioned. The gun turret of the model being pitched to the U.S. Military was designed by Rheinmetall engineers in Michigan. In latest weeks, the corporate has take a look at fired the 50-millimeter gun for the Military, Warnick mentioned.
“This can be a true unbiased providing from an OMFV perspective, however we get to leverage a number of that work that we have carried out beforehand, each from a testing and validation perspective to drag that threat, but additionally from a … materials choice, sub-system choice, from a value perspective as nicely,” he mentioned.
Executives touted every firm’s distinctive know-how and experience as their particular sauce.
Raytheon, which teamed with Rheinmetall over the past competitors, continues to be a part of the group and is engaged on “supporting the lethality integration piece of this system,” mentioned Brad Barnard, government director of precision fires and maneuver at Raytheon Missiles & Protection. The corporate is growing a “multi-mission launcher” that enables it to fireside Javelin and TOW anti-tank weapons and Coyote drones.
“This multi-mission launcher functionality that may allow Lynx … is actually distinctive throughout the market and brings a tactical flexibility to the warfighter that does not exist at the moment,” Barnard mentioned.
Allison Transmission is constructing an electrical hybrid cross-drive transmission, the primary time the propulsion know-how, which the corporate calls eGen Pressure, has been utilized in a tracked Military car, mentioned Dana Pittard, the vp of protection packages.
“It is our largest protection funding within the firm’s 107-year historical past,” he mentioned.
The facility distribution know-how will enable the car to function silently and never give off a warmth signature, Pittard mentioned. It’ll additionally enable the car to energy future weapons, Warnick mentioned.
L3Harris Applied sciences is offering electronics that join the entire car’s sensors and focusing on gear to scale back the crew workload, mentioned David Zack, president of the corporate’s Mission Avionics enterprise. The corporate mission administration system will allow synthetic intelligence and machine studying that shall be used when there is no such thing as a crew inside.
“For us it actually intersects in bettering the general situational consciousness and lowering the crew workload,” Zack mentioned.
Anduril will use its software program to “construct the again finish does, not simply sensor correlation however precise fusion, to symbolize these time-sensitive, tactical targets of curiosity after which have the ability to elevate to a commander … tips on how to prioritize the forms of results they’ll generate towards these targets,” mentioned Zach Mears, Anduril’s head of technique and progress.
The autos shall be assembled and delivered to the Military from a Textron System manufacturing facility in Slidell, Louisiana, the place the corporate has constructed greater than 10,000 autos for the U.S. navy and its allies. Textron methods will construct the chassis and the turret buildings, mentioned David Phillips, senior vp of Textron Techniques’ Land and Sea Techniques companies.
“We deliver a facility able to executing a [large military acquisition] program and a wealth of expertise in transitioning from improvement prototype into full-rate manufacturing,” Phillips mentioned.
The group’s actions span16 states and can create tons of of jobs simply to construct 11 prototypes for the Military, executives mentioned.
“There is a distinctive dedication to transformational product supply and know-how for the Military on this program,” Hedger mentioned. “Some individuals have questioned [if this is] going to be an iterative step in combating autos? And this group got here collectively as a result of they wished to show a transformational platform might be delivered on day one.”