hello everyone and welcome back again with us at us military news channel
one of these fighting vehicles could finally replace the army's m2 bradley
one of these days the us army really will replace its m2 bradley fighting vehicle
could the up teeth 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 rain metal hanoi oshkosh and a new company from michigan called metal ops
the offv will be capable of robotic operation most if not all the entrants 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 m242
25 millimeter auto cannon to engage more heavily armored targets at longer range
here's what we know about the four major contestants including metal ops
option one raytheon rain metal kf-41 links
the kf-41 lynx is a partnership between the us-based raytheon and the german defense
contractor rain metal 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 rain metal and allison announced a partnership to equip
links with what the two companies call a 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 armored with a lance 2.0 turret that includes a 35 millimeter cannon
and 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
option 2 bay omfv mystery vehicle
bay'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 detail
the vehicle appears to be the company's armored multi-purpose vehicle ampv which it designed for
the us army as a personal carrier mortar carrier headquarters and medevec 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 mk2 unmanned turret as bae and elbit announced they would
work together on an omfv last year the turret is armed with the atk mk .44 30 millimeter
gun which is the same auto cannon used on the m1296 striker dragoon infantry combat vehicle
the zimwalt class destroyers and the ac-130w spooky airborne gunships the turret also features
a coaxial 7.62 millimeter machine gun the am pv's general purpose vehicle has a crew of two
and can carry six passengers it's not clear how many passengers an omfv variant would carry
option three general dynamics land systems
general dynamic lan 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 the next generation design will provide enough of a leap forward
to exceed the president 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
option 4 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 30 millimeter cannon and millimeter coaxial machine gun a 0.50 caliber
remote weapon system and the israeli spike lr2 anti-tank missile system built into the tourette
hanwa says the redback's hydropneumatic suspension system gives it superior cross-country mobility
the five contractor teams will each design digital prototypes per defense use these
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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