Next-generation combat vehicle could replace aging Bradleys.

• Author: Tadjdeh, Yasmin

* As the iconic Bradley fighting vehicle ages, the Army is weighing whether it will outfit existing systems with upgrades or procure a replacement platform.

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A new system--which would be called the next-generation combat vehicle--wouldn't be fielded until the late 2020s or 2030s, said Todd Thomas, program manager for the vehicle at U.S. Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center.

"The next-generation combat vehicle is... going to have capabilities that far exceed those of current infantry fighting vehicles in the Army force today," he said. "It's going to... have unparalleled survivability for the occupants [and] for underbody blasts."

It will be able to meet the same threats that the current Bradley system can, but at a lighter weight, he added.

To help remove risk, the Army is working on a number of prototyping efforts that will be folded into a larger technology demonstrator program, he told National Defense during the Michigan Defense Exposition in Warren, Michigan.

"We have a set of requirements that we've been working on under the program called combat vehicle prototyping," he said. "That program is really the lead in... that we're leveraging for the next-generation combat vehicle."

Since 2015, TARDEC has been developing new systems that could be integrated into an infantry fighting vehicle. Working alongside the Army Maneuver Center of Excellence, it blended requirements from the ground combat vehicle --an effort that was canceled in 2014 --and the Bradley.

"We were trying to take the best of both worlds as a starting point from a requirements standpoint," Thomas said. "Are those the final requirements? I would tell you, no, they're not. Those are the starting points from which we can have a lot of discussions with the user community so that we can get the requirements right. But we think we're in the ballpark."

For now, the Army is doing modeling and simulation as well as lab testing at the subsystem level, he said.

Technologies developed through the prototyping program could be integrated into demonstration vehicles. Col. William Nuckols, Jr., director of mounted requirements at the Maneuver Center of Excellence, said the service wants to have them in "the hands of soldiers no later than fiscal year 2022."

Later this year, the Army will establish an integrated concept development team for the vehicle, he said. The group will begin accessing the technology and manufacturability readiness...