L3Harris joins Textron and Raytheon on Rheinmetall’s team to refine the heavily armored, high-tech Lynx for the Army’s Optionally Manned Fighting vehicle competition.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.Gray Eagle is the low-cost, low-risk answer to Army modernization
Gray Eagle STOL and Gray Eagle 25M are the best options for Army aviation as it assesses where to move from its current inflection point.
The Army Chief of Staff defended the service’s ambitious modernization program, particularly new armored vehicles and long-range missiles.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
Manned armored vehicles will have a place even in a world of killer drones, experts agreed. But will they engage the enemy directly with big guns, or stay hidden and send out armed robots instead?
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
Adding robot scouts and replacing vintage vehicles – the M113, the M2 Bradley, and potentially even the M1 Abrams – will make heavy brigades much more mobile, lethal, and aware of threats, Maj. Gen. Richard Ross Coffman says.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
The Army is testing the MPF light tank; evaluating concepts for the OMFV troop carrier; preparing for major tests of high-tech Robotic Combat Vehicles and workhorse Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicles in 2022; and will test a full battalion of 18 ERCA howitzers in 2023.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
“China’s proven it will not self-limit in competition, so we cannot expect them to self-limit in conflict,” said Maj. Gen. Richard Ross Coffman, who heads armored vehicle modernization at Army Futures Command. “We’ve got to be able to fight no matter where we are.”
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
Israeli manufacturer Rafael claims it’s worked with the Army to get the weight of the anti-missile system down below a ton – and it’ll still protect the lightly armored Stryker as effectively as the full-size system protects the massive M1 Abrams.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
New Army mounted system won’t play favorites when it comes to C5ISR, EW and A-PNT
The CMOSS Mounted Form Factor will facilitate tech insertion for new capabilities while co-existing with the Mounted Family of Computer Systems.
“This is a very important step that demonstrates a precedent,” Khaled Al Zaabi, chief commercial officer at Nimr, told me. “We’ve never had such industrial military collaboration (in the region) so this definitely cements us as a major global player.”
By Chyrine Mezher
The Army’s already installed off-the-shelf Israeli anti-missile systems on its M1 Abrams and tried similar tech on Bradley and Stryker. But what it really wants is a standardized yet customizable Modular Active Protection System (MAPS) it can install on a wide range of vehicles.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
Miniaturized missile defenses work well on heavy tanks, but efforts to fit such Active Protection Systems on light vehicles like Stryker have failed – so far. Now the Army will test two lightweight options: Rafael’s Trophy VPS and Rheinmetall’s ADS.
By Arie Egozi
General Dynamics has already delivered at least two of its Mobile Protected Firepower prototypes to Fort Bragg, but BAE is lagging behind – although it says its MPFs will make the Army’s Jan. 4 deadline to start testing.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
The Army will give companies more time to refine their designs for the Bradley replacement, but there’s a four-month gap in funding in fiscal 2023.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
The cutting-edge IVAS targeting goggles took a $230 million hit, while the latest upgrade to the venerable CH-47 Chinook – which the Army doesn’t actually want – got a $165 million boost.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
After decades fighting guerrillas and terrorists, France is refocusing on Russia and China with increased budgets, intensified training, stronger divisions, and new armored vehicles — much like the US. But the French approach is still very different.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
