here's comes the us army's super fighting vehicle to replace m2 bradley
one of these days the us army really will replace its m2 bradley fighting vehicle
could the umpteenth time be the charm after multiple failed attempts the latest competition
to replace the cold war era bradley infantry fighting vehicle has drawn five contestants
the optionally manned fighting vehicle omfv competition includes all of the big names in
u.s land power plus companies from germany and south korea
the army will ultimately buy thousands of the new vehicles which are designed to carry an infantry
squad into combat the m2 bradley entered service in the 1980s as the first american infantry
fighting vehicle ifv a new concept pioneered by the soviet union unlike previous infantry carriers
which dismounted their soldiers before battle the soviets designed their bmp-1 to carry an infantry
squad throughout a battle maintaining a unit's battlefield momentum ifvs were equipped with a
small caliber autocannon anti-tank missiles and heavier armor than their predecessors
the bradley served on throughout the cold war and beyond first seeing combat in the 1991 gulf war
and then the 2003 invasion of iraq the army has steadily upgraded the bradley over the
past five decades but the service never intended the ifv to last as long as it has
the army has tried to replace the bradley at least five times since the early 2000s
spending nearly 20 billion dollars without producing a single working vehicle
the latest effort to replace the bradley collapsed in 2020 when the omfv competition attracted
only one qualified entrant but now the contest suddenly has five entrants bae general dynamics
land systems raytheon rhine metal hanwa oshkosh and a new company from michigan called metalops
the omfv will be capable of robotic operation most if not all of the entrance will include artificial
intelligence anti-tank missiles flying drones and an active protection system capable of shooting
down incoming rockets and missiles the army also wants a beefier gun than the bradley's m 242
25 millimeter autocannon to engage more heavily armored targets at longer ranges
here's what we know about the four major contestants excluding metal ops
number one raytheon rhine metal kf 41 links
the kf-41 lynx is a partnership between the us-based raytheon and the german defense
contractor reinmetal the lynx has a crew of three and can carry eight soldiers in the back
that's one more than the m2 bradley in february rheinmetall and allison announced a partnership
to equip links with what the two companies call it next generation electrified transmission
raytheon will reportedly add its coyote airborne drone to the vehicle
giving the kf-41 eyes over the battlefield
the lynx is armed with a lance 2.0 turret that includes a 35-millimeter cannon in mission
pods capable of carrying anti-tank guided missiles drones or loitering munitions the
vehicle is equipped with a modular armor system that weighs between 37 and 55 tons
according to breaking defense the system would allow the army to deploy lynxes with less armor
to places where local bridges couldn't support the weight of a 55-ton vehicle
number 2 baeo mfv mystery vehicle
bae's entry is a bit mysterious the company teased out a shadowed image of its entrant
on social media which armored vehicle watchers naturally adjusted to bring out more details
the vehicle appears to be the company's armored multi-purpose vehicle ampv which it designed
for the us army as a personnel carrier mortar carrier headquarters and medevac vehicle the
ampv is actually derived in large part from the m2 bradley leading some to call it bradley next
generation the turret appears to be an elbit ut30 mkii unmanned turret
which makes sense as bae and albert announced they would work together on an omfv last year
the turret is armed with the atk mk four four thirty millimeter gun
which is the same auto cannon used on the m1296 striker dragoon infantry
combat vehicle the zumwalt-class destroyers and the ac-130w spooky airborne gunships
the turret also features a coaxial 7.62 millimeter machine gun the ampv general purpose vehicle has a
crew of two and can carry six passengers it's not clear how many passengers omfv variant would carry
number three general dynamics land systems general dynamics land systems the company behind the m1a2
abrams main battle tank and the striker infantry vehicle has submitted a concept design proposal
for the omfv the company claims that next generation design will provide enough of the leap
forward to exceed the present bradley while still providing room for growth in the years to come
glds has yet to share imagery of what the company's omfv entrant looks like
number four hanwa defense oshkosh redback hanwa oshkosh is offering an americanized version of
south korea's k21 infantry fighting vehicle which first entered service in 2009 with the republic
of korea army the red back a 43-ton vehicle with a crew of three is capable of carrying six to eight
passengers it's armed with a thirty millimeter cannon and seven point six two millimeter coaxial
machine gun a point five zero caliber remote weapon system and the israeli spike lr2 anti-tank
missile system built into the turret hanwa says the red-back's hydro-pneumatic suspension system
gives it superior cross-country mobility the five contractor teams will each design digital
prototypes per defense news three semi-finalists will construct prototypes and the army will
select one winner in 2027 with an eye towards sending the new vehicle to combat units by 2030.
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