General Dynamics Delivers Mobile Protected Firepower Vehicles for U.S. Army Contest

General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) this month has delivered two Mobile Protected Firepower (MPF) preproduction vehicles to the U.S. Army, and two more will be delivered by the end of December.

These four vehicles complete the requirement of 12 MPF preproduction vehicles that General Dynamics Land Systems was contracted to produce as part of the Army’s ongoing competition. The previous eight vehicles are undergoing Army and internal testing.

GDLS and BAE Systems were chosen in December 2018 to each build 12 prototypes of the Army’s future MPF vehicle identified in the service’s ground combat vehicle strategy published in 2015. 

On December 11, the Army said first of pre-production MPF ground combat platforms were delivered to Fort Bragg, N.C. to be used in the Soldier Vehicle Assessment (SVA). The Army’s Infantry Brigade Combat Teams (IBCT) is seeking a combat vehicle that is capable of providing mobile, protected, direct, offensive fire capability.

The SVA is on track to commence on Jan. 4, 2021. It will be conducted at Fort Bragg and will run through June 2021. During that time, Soldiers will use the MPF prototypes to conduct a wide variety of operational scenarios. The SVA is an operational assessment rather than a formal test event, and it will directly inform the development of tactics, techniques and procedures (TTP) of this new capability for the IBCT.

The competitive phase of the program is scheduled to conclude with the selection of a single materiel solution and transition into production near the end of fiscal year 2022.

GDLS is building a vehicle that takes a new light-weight chassis driven by a high performance power pack and an advanced suspension and combines it with a turret featuring the same fire control system found in the Abrams main battle tank.

BAE Systems’ design is an updated M8 Buford armored gun system with new capabilities and components. Its offering falls between the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) and a Stryker in terms of size while GDLS’ vehicle is roughly half the weight of an Abrams tank.

BAE’s MPF prototype can be transported via a C-130 aircraft. Three can fit on a C-17 aircraft. The Army is requiring the vehicle be C-17 transportable.