FORT BENNING, Ga. – Oct. 1 is the date the Army expects the bid samples and written proposals for the Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle, referred to as OMFV, Brig. Gen. Ross Coffman told the attendees of the Maneuver Warfighter Conference Sept. 11.
Coffman directs the Next Generation Combat Vehicle Cross Functional Team, which leads the Army’s effort to modernize its combat vehicles. He said the first unit will be equipped with the OMFV by 2026.
The OMFV will replace the Bradley Fighting Vehicle. According to an Army release, the requirements are:
• Ability to conduct remotely controlled operations while the crew is off platform.
• It should eventually operate with no more than two crewmen and possess sufficient volume under armor to carry at least six Soldiers.
• A C-17 should be able to carry two OMFVs and they (crews) should be ready for combat within 15 minutes.
• The OMFV should include the ability to super elevate weapons and simultaneously engage threats using main gun and an independent weapons system.
• It must possess requisite protection to survive on the contemporary and future battlefield.
• It will possess sufficient size, weight, architecture, power, and cooling for automotive and electrical purposes to meet all platform needs and allow for pre-planned product improvements.
• It should apply immediate, precise and decisively lethal extended range medium caliber, directed energy, and missile fires in day and night all-weather conditions, while moving or stationary against moving or stationary targets. The platform should allow for mounted, dismount, and unmanned system target handover.
• It should have embedded training systems that have interoperability with the Synthetic Training Environment.
• Industry should demonstrate innovations that achieve breakthroughs in power generation and management to achieve increased operational range and fuel efficiency; increased silent watch, part and component reliability, and significantly reduced sustainment burden.
The OMFV will give maneuver Soldiers the advantage in close combat, Coffman said. It will work with other combat platforms, such as robotic combat vehicles.
“It will be survivable and extremely lethal,” he said.
To see the video from this event, visit https://vimeo.com/fortbenningtv/ngcv.
To see more photos from this event, visit https://www.fortbenningphotos.com/Maneuver-Center/Warfighter-Conference/Annual-Maneuver-Conference/2019-Maneuver-Warfighter-Conference.
For more Maneuver Warfighter Conference stories, visit https://www.dvidshub.net/feature/ManWarCon or www.army.mil/benning.