The U.S. Army has awarded a $335 million Section 804 Middle Tier Acquisition (MTA) Rapid Prototyping contract to General Dynamics Land Systems to deliver 12 prototype vehicles for the Mobile Protected Firepower program. The medium-weight, large-caliber MPF combat vehicle will support infantry brigades. The MPF will be meant for bunker busting roles and combating light armor using a gun in the 105mm to 120mm range. The vehicle is meant to be easily air transportable in standard cargo aircraft like the C-17.
“We are excited about this opportunity to provide the U.S. Army a large-caliber, highly mobile combat vehicle to support the infantry brigade combat teams,” says Don Kotchman, Vice President and General Manager of General Dynamics Land Systems U.S. Market. “We are especially proud of this new opportunity to serve in the Infantry Brigade Combat Team (IBCT) formation.”
The contract has Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) options for a total of up to $968 million. Work on this contract will be performed at Land Systems locations in Sterling Heights, Mich.; Scranton, Pa., and Tallahassee, Fla., and at the Joint Systems Manufacturing Center in Lima, Ohio — the only operational tank plant in the country. General Dynamics Land Systems is a business unit of General Dynamics . General Dynamics Land Systems provides innovative design, engineering, technology, production and full life-cycle support for land combat vehicles around the globe.
The U.S Army has selected two companies to provide prototypes of a new armored, tracked vehicle to give infantry units necessary firepower. Both Michigan-based General Dynamics Land Systems and BAE Systems will have the next 14 months to build and begin delivering 12 prototypes of the Mobile Protected Firepower vehicle. BAE Systems will build an M8 Buford Armored Gun System with new capabilities and components. GD submitted an offering that puts a version of its latest Abrams turret together with a chassis that uses past work on the United Kingdom’s AJAX (based ASCOD) program.
