Designing the blueprint for ground tactical vehicles

The U.S. Army will eventually replace their current fighting vehicles, the M1 Abrams tank and M2 Bradley, with the Next Generation Combat Vehicle (NGCV) based upon the prototypes our team of subject matter experts will provide to the Army. Our team is exploring the realm of possible to not only address present-day conflicts, but also predict the Army’s future needs.

Our job is to prototype vehicles that exceed the Army’s current lethality and survivability requirements, but also include future technologies -- like autonomous operations and robotics -- and be lighter, more fuel efficient.

As foreign peer adversaries catch up or even exceed the U.S.’s military capabilities, the Army is eager to keep pace or preferably “leap” ahead with technology. This means we are incorporating technologies that may not be widely available or even exist yet.

The team, led by SAIC, combines expertise from GS Engineering, Inc., Hodges Transportation Inc., Lockheed Martin, Moog Inc., and Roush Industries.

Expected to innovate

Our team has their work cut out for them. The Army is looking to us to bring disruptive technologies and new designs in record time. Awarded last fall, the contract challenges industry to deliver a viable prototype by the summer of 2019.

As a systems integrator, we are uniquely qualified to bring capabilities from across the globe and quickly engineer a solution that is adaptive and agile. Our goal is to deliver a prototype vehicle that can inform the ultimate NGCV platform that can be easily upgraded and modernized throughout its 30-year or more lifespan.

We are leveraging our innovation and technology, but also building upon the Army’s existing internal research and development, to improve upon or develop vehicle capabilities in key areas including:

• Optionally Manned Vehicles
• Decisive Lethality
• Robotic Control
• Two-Man Crew Operations

Once complete, the NGCV prototypes will be turned over for soldier testing in Ft. Benning, Georgia, by the Army’s NGCV Cross-Functional Team (CFT).