BAE Systems announced that it has been awarded a $449.9
million contract to participate in the technology development (TD) phase of the
U.S. Army’s Ground Combat Vehicle (GCV) program.
BAE Systems has teamed with Northrop Grumman Corporation
to offer a vehicle that provides exceptional growth and survivability at an
affordable price.
The TD phase of the GCV program is a 24-month program
directed at maturing the GCV proposal through the preliminary design review in
anticipation of prototype builds during the engineering and manufacturing
development phase of the program.
The BAE Systems-Northrop Grumman team was one of two
industry teams awarded TD contracts.
Advancing to this next phase in the competition brings
us one step closer to fielding a vehicle for our soldiers that is affordable,
provides for maximum force protection and is built to accommodate future
technological enhancements,” said Mark Signorelli, vice president and general
manager of Weapon Systems at BAE Systems.
We appreciate being selected by the U.S. Army and the
Department of Defense to mature our GCV solution, a critical capability
required to modernize our Army and provide soldiers with a decisive edge
against any adversary. At BAE Systems, we take pride in protecting those who
protect us and with our partners and teammates, are fully committed to the
success of this program,” Signorelli added.
The BAE Systems-Northrop Grumman vehicle features an
adaptive platform that will remain relevant for decades to come, bringing more
survivability, mobility and versatility to the Army and with levels of
protection scalable to the demands of a variety of missions.
The BAE Systems-Northrop Grumman team has applied its
expertise and lessons learned from a decade of warfare to design a
network-ready, fully integrated vehicle with significantly increased
capability, so U.S. forces can engage and prevail in full-spectrum operations
today and in the future,” said Joe G. Taylor, Jr., Northrop Grumman Information
Systems’ vice president for Ground Combat Systems.
The team’s offering includes a hybrid electric drive
propulsion system that enables exceptional force protection and mobility in a
lower weight vehicle while provisioning for growth in power requirements as new
technologies are matured and integrated into the platform.
This technology allows for GCV to meet the demands of
near term operations while providing a robust platform for future technology
integration and growth at low risk and cost.
The BAE Systems-Northrop Grumman Ground Combat Vehicle
team includes: QinetiQ, iRobot Corporation, MTU and Saft. As prime contractor,
BAE Systems leads the overall program management, systems integration, vehicle
design, structure and logistical support as well as readiness and sustainment
of the platform.
Northrop Grumman serves as the C4ISR lead. QinetiQ
provides the key component of the hybrid electric drive propulsion system, the
E-X-Drive®. iRobot serves as the unmanned ground vehicle integrator and will
enhance future autonomous operations.
MTU provides the engine and power generation for GCV
and Saft provides the battery and energy storage system.
Work under the technology development phase will be
performed at BAE Systems and Northrop Grumman sites in Sterling Heights and
Troy, Michigan; Santa Clara and Carson, California; York, Pennsylvania;
Minneapolis, Minnesota; and Huntsville, Alabama.
By Telecomlead.com Team
editor@telecomlead.com
