From: Military and AeroSpace
COMMENT - See the end of the article for, "Also on the BAE Systems GCV team is iRobot, which will serve as the
unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) integrator, and will enable the GCV to
operate the Small Unmanned Ground Vehicle (SUGV). It strikes me these people are ramping up for ever more killing.
Posted by John Keller
WARREN, Mich., 24 April 2013. U.S. Army combat vehicle
designers are extending by six months the technology development phase
of a program to build a modern, networked armored fighting vehicle to
replace and augment versions of the M113 armored personnel carrier, M2
Bradley Fighting Vehicle, and the Stryker armored vehicle.
The Army on Tuesday awarded contracts to General Dynamics Land
Systems and BAE Systems Land and Armaments LP, both based in Sterling
Heights, Mich., to extend the Ground Combat Vehicle (GCV) technology development phase. The original technology development contracts were awarded to these companies in August 2011.
The GCV will use vehicle electronics (vetronics) that meets a new and evolving open-systems standard called Vehicle Integration for C4ISR/EW Interoperability (VICTORY).
On Tuesday General Dynamics won a $180.4 million contract, and BAE
Systems won a $159.5 million contract to extend GCV technology
development, which calls for the companies to build early prototype
Ground Combat Vehicles.
Planning had called for the first GCV prototypes to be completed in
2014 or 2015, but this latest program extension may delay those dates.
The GCV was to be deployed by 2019, but that schedule now may be
stretched.
Ultimately one of the two competing GCV teams will be selected to
build as many as 1,874 Ground Combat Vehicles. Awarding Tuesday's
contracts were officials of the Army Contracting Command in Warren,
Mich., on behalf of the Army TACOM Life Cycle Management Command.
For fiscal 2014 the Army is requesting $592.2 million for GCV
research and development, which is a slight reduction from the $639.9
million for GCV research the Pentagon requested for this year. The GCV
infantry fighting vehicle will provide an infantry squad with
networking, mobility, force protection, and firepower.
On the General Dynamics GCV team are Lockheed Martin Corp., Raytheon
Co., and Tognum America Inc. On the BAE Systems team are Northrop
Grumman Corp., QinetiQ North America, Saft Group, and iRobot Corp.
On the General Dynamics team, Lockheed Martin will build the turret,
lethal and non-lethal effects, and embedded training; Raytheon will
build the GCV's rocket-propelled-grenade-protection system, as well as
indirect-vision and sensor integration; Tognum America will build the
GCV's engine, transmission, and generator.
General Dynamics C4 Systems leads the network and communications
integrated product team and has responsibility for network integration,
communications, computing, and information assurance.
On the BAE Systems team Northrop Grumman will design and integrate
hardware and software for the GCV's command, control, communications,
computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C4ISR).
Northrop Grumman has hired Curtiss-Wright Controls Defense Solutions
in Ashburn, Va., to design open-architecture embedded computer and
network switch subsystems. The Curtiss-Wright mission computer going
onto the BAE Systems-Northrop Grumman entry in the GCV competition uses
four commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) single board computers in a rugged
chassis.
QinetiQ will provide the BAE Systems GCV's hybrid electric drive
transmission, while MTU will build the combat vehicle's diesel engine.
Saft will provide the GCV energy storage system using lithium-ion
batteries. L3 Communications will provide the GCV with hydropneumatic
suspension units.
Also on the BAE Systems GCV team is iRobot, which will serve as the
unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) integrator, and will enable the GCV to
operate the Small Unmanned Ground Vehicle (SUGV).
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