Seeking to advance the development of the future replacement for the U.S. Army’s Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles (IFV), American Rheinmetall and GDLS have reported completing the preliminary design reviews of their candidates, thereby shaping future developments within the XM30 program with an eye toward the coming year. This news was confirmed by Major General Glenn Dean, the U.S. Army’s Program Executive Officer for Ground Combat Systems, during the annual Army Association conference.
It’s worth noting that in June 2023, both GDLS and American Rheinmetall were selected from a group of five competitors to continue in the aforementioned design phase, while Point Blank Enterprises, Oshkosh Defense, and BAE Systems were the companies that did not pass the initial stage. For now, both companies are working on an armored vehicle equipped with a remotely operated 50 mm cannon, anti-tank missiles, active protection systems, and a wide array of sensors, among other features.
Specialized media have reported that the value of both contracts is approximately $1.6 billion, and it is expected that by the end of the program, the U.S. Army will have invested close to $45 billion. In terms of timelines, Major General Dean himself stated that the milestone recently achieved by the companies indicates that the Army expects to receive the first prototypes at a faster pace than originally anticipated. He also noted: “At that moment, when the design is finalized, all elements and parts are defined, and at that point, the contractor orders all their materials to build the prototype.”
Delving into further details, the U.S. Army’s final selection of the XM30 design is expected to take place during fiscal year 2027, while the vehicles are projected to enter service two years later. In line with this, it is worth mentioning that the Army is heavily leveraging digital tools to accelerate the design processes, making advances available to soldiers to obtain feedback as quickly as possible. This allows for the first prototypes to be expected within 18 to 20 months.
Regarding this, Colonel Kevin Bradley, who serves as the lead officer for the U.S. Army’s combat vehicle modernization process, stated: “Having soldiers come in and see what the seating in the rear was like and how their evacuation drills would unfold was definitely beneficial for both providers, as it allowed them to get feedback to adjust the designs to better fit what we were looking for in the requirements.”
For his part, Major General Dean added: “I would say we’ve seen everything, from small changes in the user interface to, in at least one case, a fairly significant structural change in the basic design (…) There are some pretty drastic changes, and this is the time to make them.”
Images used for illustrative purposes.
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