Raytheon, Rheinmetall form JV for US Army’s Bradley IFV Replacement

Raytheon and Rheinmetall Defence have established a joint venture to offer the Lynx Infantry Fighting Vehicle for the United States Army's Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle (OMFV) competition.

The Lynx team will submit its bid on or before October 1, 2019.

Scheduled for fielding in 2026, the OMFV is expected to replace the Bradley fighting vehicle. The new vehicle will be optimized for urban combat and rural terrain. The Army has named the OMFV as a top modernization priority supported under the service's Futures Command structure.  

The US-based joint venture is called Raytheon Rheinmetall Land Systems LLC. "This advanced combat vehicle will be made in America," said Sam Deneke, Raytheon Land Warfare Systems vice president said in a statement Friday.

Raytheon and Rheinmetall joined forces in 2018 to offer Lynx for the Army's OMFV competition. Lynx is a next-generation, tracked armored fighting vehicle.

Raytheon technology earmarked for the Lynx includes the company's advanced weapons, like the TOW missile, Active Protection System, third-generation sights, Coyote unmanned aircraft system as well as cyber protection.

The US Army had issued an RFP in March this year to provide optionally manned fighting vehicle prototype designs. The Army will choose up to two teams to build 14 prototypes.

The OMFV is intended to replace the Bradley Fighting Vehicle starting in 2026. Some of the threshold requirements for OMFV are a 30mm cannon and a second-generation forward-looking infrared system, or FLIR. Objective requirements are a 50mm cannon and a third-generation FLIR.