SAIC New Combat Vehicle

As new threats emerge, it is clear the U.S. Army’s Infantry Brigade Combat Teams (IBCTs) need a lightweight vehicle that provides overwhelming precision, all-weather, shoot-on-the-move firepower that can move rapidly in restricted terrains. Mobile Protected Firepower (MPF) is the solution that fills this gap for the Army. SAIC's lightweight MPF can go where the infantry goes, including tough urban environments, with a mounted long-range cannon to engage tough targets the IBCT encounters. It is nimble, operates in close-quarters, and transitions to fight in forced or early entry operations.

SAIC could build the MPF quickly using major subsystems already in production. SAIC combined ST Engineering’s Next Generation Armored Fighting Vehicle chassis and CMI Defence’s Cockerill Series 3105 turret to produce a vehicle that delivers combat power to the point of need. SAIC modifyies commercially available technologies and solutions to build and upgrade ground vehicles exclusively for our nation’s armed forces. SAIC is not limited by its technology, unlike traditional combat vehicle providers.

Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC) announced October 5, 2017 that it would compete to rapidly develop combat vehicle prototypes to meet the U.S. Army’s need as part of the Mobile Protected Firepower (MPF) program. SAIC, together with ST Kinetics and CMI Defence, would develop and integrate a vehicle that offers the Army an innovative solution that provides infantry forces access to combat environments in 21st century operations.

“As a systems integrator, SAIC can deliver an alternative option to the Army that brings together best-of-breed, non-developmental components to field a new combat vehicle quickly that meets critical requirements,” said Jim Scanlon, SAIC senior vice president and general manager of the Defense Systems Customer Group. “Rapid delivery of this MPF solution is essential to the Army and our solution is extremely well-positioned to meet these requirements and deliver a modernized vehicle to soldiers.”

Based on ST Kinetics’ Next Generation Armored Fighting Vehicle (NGAFV) chassis and CMI Defence’s Cockerill Series 3105 turret currently in production, SAIC would compete for an Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) contract to build prototypes that incorporate a lightweight combat vehicle design while still providing mobility and lethality for Army units. Such a vehicle would enable freedom of movement and action, specifically for restrictive, urban operations but tailorable for full-spectrum combat environments.

“SAIC has developed a superior solution that integrates mature, currently produced offerings from our industry partners, ST Kinetics and CMI Defence. By marrying ST Kinetics’ chassis with CMI Defence’s turret, SAIC can deliver a reliable vehicle that gives soldiers a new capability in combat environments,” said Scanlon.

“ST Kinetics is indeed honored to team up with SAIC again to participate in another major defense program in the U.S. Our NGAFV is an advanced system that is fully digitalized, highly mobile and developed to support networked knowledge-based warfighting. A fleet of seven prototypes had been developed and robustly tested over several years. As the NGAFV would be in production soon, this platform brings minimal technical risk and a robust supply chain to the MPF program,” said Dr. Lee Shiang Long, president of ST Kinetics.

President of CMI Defence Jean-Luc Maurange added, “We are extremely proud to participate in the MPF program with SAIC, especially as this is the 200th anniversary of our company’s founding. Our highly innovative turret and gun solution is already qualified and in production, which translates into a high level of manufacturing readiness, low technical risk and ensures our ability to meet the compressed program schedule required by the U.S. Army.”

The NGAFV with the Cockerill turret had a gross vehicle weight of 32.5 tons, which is slightly higher than the 29 tons of Singapore’s troop carrier. The Cockerill 3105 turret, which offers a number of different calibers up to 105mm, has been ordered by Indonesia for its General Dynamics European Land Systems combat-ready, eight-wheel drive, armored Pandur II vehicle.

SAIC’s entry into the MPF competition built on continued momentum in combat vehicle modernization, to include the company’s recent collaboration with the Detroit Automotive Technologies Consortium (DATC) and the U.S. Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC) to assist in the development of the next-generation combat vehicle - experimental prototype (NGCV-EP). This recent success expands upon SAIC’s proven experience in modernizing combat and tactical vehicles including Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles for the Army, and Amphibious Combat Vehicles 1.1 (ACV) and Amphibious Assault Vehicles with Survivability Upgrades (AAV-SU) for the U.S. Marine Corps.

SAIC has a deep-rooted history in vehicle modernization stemming from work integrating capabilities into Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles for the Army in 2005. This successful program paved the way for recent work with the U.S. Marine Corps on Amphibious Combat Vehicles 1.1 (ACV) and Assault Amphibious Vehicles with Survivability Upgrades (AAV SU). SAIC also submitted a ground combat vehicle prototype for the Army’s Mobile Protected Firepower program.