BAE Systems Wins $449M Contract for GCV From US Army

The Army announced today the award of two contracts to BAE Systems Land and Armaments, L.P., Troy, Mich. ($449,964,969), and General Dynamics Land Systems, Inc., Sterling Heights, Mich. ($439,715,950), for the Ground Combat Vehicle (GCV) program technology development phase. These contractors have been selected to develop competitive, affordable and executable designs for a new Army Infantry Fighting Vehicle (IFV) over the next 24 months. The contract awards follow the Department of Defense’s formal approval of the GCV program to enter the technology development phase. Approval of this first major milestone builds on months of ongoing collaboration between the Army and the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense (Acquisition, Technology and Logistics) to successfully develop, build and field an affordable, effective and suitable IFV. “The Army enthusiastically welcomes the formal launch of the Ground Combat Vehicle program, which will provide much needed protection and mobility to soldiers in combat,” said Secretary of the Army John McHugh. “Given the economic environment the nation currently faces, the Army recognizes that it is imperative to continually address requirements as we build a versatile, yet affordable, next-generation infantry fighting vehicle.” The department’s GCV acquisition strategy, which emphasizes affordability and a seven-year schedule, calls for aggressive exploration of GCV IFV capabilities trade-space via continued requirements and affordability analysis during the 24-month technology development phase. As the Army finalizes GCV requirements during this phase of the formal acquisition process, these efforts will enable the Army to realize program schedule and affordability objectives. The Army remains committed to a seven-year schedule as the appropriate amount of time necessary to design, develop, build and test the next-generation infantry fighting vehicle.