Army taps Textron’s Ripsaw M3 for Robotic Combat Vehicle program, sources say
If the service's previous RCV plans hold true, the company will begin finalizing designs ahead of additional prototype deliveries next year.
If the service's previous RCV plans hold true, the company will begin finalizing designs ahead of additional prototype deliveries next year.
The sale was approved by the Biden administration against the backdrop of the ongoing conflict in Gaza, and moved only after two key Democrats removed objections.
"One of the tasks for me, I would like to create a Lithuanian hedgehog, which could be so strong [that it would be] uncomfortable for bigger Russia to swallow," Laurynas Kasčiūnas, Lithuania’s Minister of National Defence, said today.
After AM General won a new contract over incumbent Oshkosh Defense in February, Oshkosh filed a protest, saying it had "significant concerns" about the award process.
With the different designs converging on similar physical specs – weight, powerplant, weapons – the competition comes down to digital intangibles: AI, electronics, and ease of upgrade.
General Dynamics had urgently upgunned a Europe-based brigade, but Oshkosh will build the next three to six brigades’ worth, starting with a unit in the Pacific Northwest.
Oshkosh, the incumbent, makes military trucks by the thousand. GM Defense, the upstart, has little recent military experience — but is backed by one of the world’s biggest auto companies.
The Korean company is partnering with US-based Oshkosh. That means at least five teams are now competing to replace the M2 Bradley, a far stronger response than the Army’s first attempt in 2019.
Building 10,000 Joint Light Tactical Vehicles in five years – at less than the original projected price – improves Oshkosh’s odds to win a re-competition for the program next year.
With 9,500 Joint Light Tactical Vehicles already delivered, the Army was running out of room on its existing contracts, so it just ordered another 2,738 from Oshkosh. That’ll keep production going through a re-competition scheduled for 2022.
Israel’s Rafael will soon ship the first missile defense battery to the US and wants to build a factory here. The really hard part: connecting Iron Dome to US Army command networks.
The Joint Light Tactical Vehicle is currently built by Oshkosh but the Army is seeking alternative manufacturers, who will get the government-owned Technical Data Package required to build it. The Army’s also reviewing how many JLTVs it really needs, Secretary Ryan McCarthy says.
The service is already slowing production of Oshkosh’s Joint Light Tactical Vehicle and now wants to find an alternative manufacturer —which could create logistical or legal headaches. Other Oshkosh programs are also ramping down.
Auto giant General Motors is the outsider in a competition against two teams of companies with decades of defense experience: Oshkosh-Flyer and Polaris-SAIC.