Gaining Ground As the U.S. Army gears up for its future ground fleet, it is faced with trying to develop, acquire and deploy a trio of priority vehicle programs at the same time: the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV), Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle (AMPV) and Ground Combat Vehicle (GCV). Michael Fabey/AW&ST The three programs will replace stalwart ground fleets such as the High Mobility, Multi-Purpose Wheeled Vehicle (Humvee), Bradley Fighting Vehicle, M113 personnel carriers and Stryker programs. The total acquisition bill for the new vehicles is expected to reach nearly $100 billion as the Army navigates away from concerns over improvised explosive devices (IED) to greater mobility and more affordability.
Humvees to MRAPs to JLTV The Humvee fleet served the Army well for decades before the U.S. invaded in Iraq in 2003. Manufacturer AM General of Mishawaka, Ind., has made about 225,000 since 1985 and was still turning out 3,000-5,000 annually a decade ago. The Pentagon spent $4.7 billion for Humvee procurement in fiscal 2007 and 2008. Lockheed Martin By 2006, though, the Army and Marine Corps decided to replace the Humvees with mine-resistant, ambush-protected (MRAP) vehicles, which would be better designed and outfitted to survive IED blasts. The services bought and fielded MRAP vehicles under urgent operational requirements. But the Pentagon inspector general blasted the Defense Department s MRAP procurement for failing to draft a better set of requirements. In June, Lockheed Martin delivered the last of 22 Joint Light Tactical Vehicles for the engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) phase of the U.S. Army and Marine Corps program to replace Humvees.
The Joint Light Tactical Vehicle Oshkosh Corp. The large, bulky and slow MRAP vehicles would not serve as well in Afghanistan, however, and the Defense Department acquired a better-suited MRAP all-terrain vehicle (M-ATV). Then, with the U.S. troop withdrawal from Iraq and the drawdown in Afghanistan, the Army and Marine Corps searched for a new vehicle, the JLTV, designed to retain some MRAP protection and regain some mobility lost to the heavier armor. JLTV Program Cost (54,599 vehicles) R&D: $497.1 million Procurement: $22.2 billion Total: $22.7 billion Oshkosh Corp. also won a contract to produce 22 JLTV prototypes for the EMD phase. Source: Government Accountability Office HOME HOME
Amped Up The Army s M113 an air-transportable, armored multipurpose vehicle family intended to provide a lightweight, amphibious armored personnel carrier for armor and mechanized infantry units has been in service since the 1960s. About 3,000 M113 variants are still used to support Armored Brigade Combat Teams (ABCT), comprising 32% of the teams organic tracked armored vehicles. Pennsylvania National Guard But the Army says the M-113 lacks the force protection and mobility needed to operate as part of combined arms teams within complex operational environments. The Army has proposed the Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle (AMPV) to replace the M113 as a vehicle integration or non-developmental effort, which should make it easier and faster to field. The Pentagon will start the program at the Milestone B engineering and manufacturing development phase, skipping the Milestone A technology development phase. Strykers became the go-to vehicles for troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Striking the Right Requirements The Obama administration s fiscal 2014 AMPV budget request was $116.298 million for research, development, test & evaluation. The Army completed the AMPV analysis of alternatives in July 2012. The top potential competitors for the AMPV contract are BAE Systems, offering a turretless Bradley Fighting Vehicle design; and General Dynamics Land Systems, bidding a tracked Stryker Fighting Vehicle or wheeled Stryker double-v-hull vehicle. An engineering and manufacturing development contract award is expected in May 2014, with full-rate production scheduled to start in fiscal 2020. The Army plans to buy up to 3,100 vehicles for a total price of $5-9.4 billion. General Dynamics Photos General Dynamics Land Systems is bidding a tracked Stryker Fighting Vehicle or wheeled Stryker double-v-hull vehicle for the Army s proposed AMPV. Projected AMPV Production, by Variant Variant To Be Replaced ABCT* Tradoc** and Testing Total Vehicles M-113A3 General Purpose 462 58 520 M-1068A3 Mission Command 899 92 991 M-1064 Mortar Carrier 348 36 384 M-113A3 Medical Evacuation 736 52 788 M-577 Medical Treatment 194 20 214 Totals 2,639 258 2,897 *Armored Bridgade Combat Team ** Training and Doctrine Command (Tradoc), the Army command responsible for training the force, would use AMPVs at its schools. Testing AMPV quantities would be allocated to various Army and Defense Department organizations responsible for testing vehicles. Source: Congressional Research Service
On Course for Combat One of the most controversial programs for the Army s ground fleet is the Gr4ound Combat Vehicle (GCV), which can trace its roots back to the service s Future Combat System (FCS) program. After the Pentagon canceled the FCS in 2009, it directed the Army to develop a GCV that would incorporate combat lessons learned in Iraq and Afghanistan. Michael Fabey/AW&ST As the Congressional Research Service notes, the GCV is the self-described centerpiece of the Army s overall combat vehicle modernization strategy,... the Army s first combat vehicle acquisition priority. The total GCV program price tag is expected to be $37.9 billion, with $7 billion for research and development and $25.4 billion for procurement. The Army needs about 30 development models and plans to buy 1,874. The Bradley Fighting Vehicle was one contender considered by the Army in an analysis of alternatives for developing its GCV.
Grinding Gears The Army wants a fuel-efficient, tracked or wheeled vehicle, with a possible V- shaped hull and side armor to protect against IEDs, that can fit on C-17 transports. The vehicles considered by the Army during its analysis of alternatives were: the Bradley M2A3, a turretless Bradley, a Stryker double-v-hull infantry carrier, the Swedish CV9035, the German-made Puma, and the Israeli Namer. In January, the undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology, and logistics, Frank Kendall, detailed major changes to the GCV program to enable a more affordable and executable program. These include: extending the current technology development phase by six months, permitting only a single contractor to proceed to the engineering and manufacturing development phase, BAE Systems and postponing the Milestone C production decision until fiscal 2019, almost a year longer than previously planned. Sequester-related cuts, however, could force the Army to compromise on some of the requirements. HOME