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Next Generation Close Combat Vehicle Study (NGCCVS)

The 2014 Next Generation Close Combat Vehicle Study (NGCCVS) between the Research Development and Engineering Command RDECOM and TRADOC demonstrated how working together, fundamental challenges, such as; What does a rapidly deployable, armored BCT look like in 2040-2050?, can be visualized into a future BCT of combat platforms.

The focus of the NGCCVS was to develop a future expeditionary close combat BCT that maximized aerial delivery of the platforms while maintaining capability to deliver an operationally relevant force to the battle. Basic vehicle weight and size classes were defined by transport modes (vertical lift, fixed wing airdrop, and fixed wing roll-on/roll-off) across forcible entry, early entry, and campaign operations. Central to the NGCCVS platform concepts was a modular protection capability that enabled platforms to grow survivability once deployed, and lethality systems with low recoil to ensure platforms were protected and lethal to remain operationally relevant while keeping the weight and size within transportability requirements.

The NGCCVS also noted that mixing of manned and unmanned systems with systems able to operate manned as an option is critical to enabling the required capabilities on the platforms within the deployment constraints of vertical lift aircraft and airdrop capable systems. The ability to remove Soldiers from autonomous wingman lethality systems enables more stowed kills with larger caliber weapon systems than is possible on manned systems of the same class. Autonomous capability becomes a critical enabler to ensuring the expeditionary BCT concept embodied in the NGCCVS can remain operationally relevant once deployed, especially in forcible and early entry operations.

• High-performance off-road capability with adjustable suspensions to enable extreme mobility to enhance terrain accessibility and mission flexibility.
• Ample onboard electrical power to enable required mission equipment packages advanced directed energy lethality and survivability technologies as well as future growth.
• Precision airdrop capability for platforms up to 24-tons to enable forced entry operations with more capable ground platforms.
• Wide range of options to provide significant lethality from very lightweight platforms (very low recoil) and the ability to provide LOS and no LOS effects from the same weapon system, which fire from manned or unmanned platforms working together in teaming formations.
• Manned and unmanned teaming of both ground and air platforms to enable advanced autonomous maneuvers such as swarming and unmanned wingman behaviors.
• Novel warheads that utilize spherical lethality zones for increased probability of hit and incapacitation of targets, resulting in reductions to stowed ammunition while enabling scalable lethality effects. Extremely high impetus propellants for hyper-velocity projectiles will provide increased anti-materiel defeat range.
• Electric fires capability, which may include high-energy lasers, high power microwaves, electromagnetic launch, and plasma weapons to provide scalable, lethal, precise, low cost effects across a range of operations.
• Significantly advanced targeting and sensing systems that will have the ability to provide targeting data with minimal latency through the Network, assist in rapid target acquisition and identification, and provide innovative sensing approaches that surmise intent (using complex data mining and metric calculations) of perceived threats granting unparalleled situational awareness.
• Advanced adaptive vehicle survivability systems give the Army the ability to provide protection based on situational encounters and can be changed out and/or adapted in real time to support a given mission. Holistic protection systems (active protection, active armor, and active occupant-centric survivability techniques) will use real time sensing and vehicle intelligence to allow these protection suites to adapt on the move as the operational situation around the vehicle changes. This will allow for intelligent decision-making based on the situation and the protection suite available on the platform. The goal would increase vehicle protection significantly across a wide range of threats at much lighter weights than current platforms.
• Modular armor strategies that enable platforms to adapt across the spectrum of conflict while still enabling air deployability for early entry operations.

The process defined by the NGCCVS could be accomplished periodically to enable material and combat developers to iteratively envision the future around major AWFCs. These future platform conceptual activities allow the Army to constantly and deliberately challenge their assumptions on the future, take new feedback on changing threat environments, and continuously improve the Army’s vision of future warfighting capability.