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Next-Generation Combat Vehicle
Next-Generation Combat Vehicle Prototype (NGCV-P)

The Next Generation Combat Vehicle is designed to eventually replace current fighting vehicles, such as the M1 Abrams tank and M2 Bradley. Future Combat Systems was the Army's primary modernization program from 2003 until May 2009, when the vehicle-development portion of the program was dropped and the network portion became part of the Army Brigade Combat Team Modernization Program.

Abrams, Bradley and Stryker are the centerpieces of the Army’s Armored Brigade Combat Teams and Stryker Brigade Combat Teams, known as ABCT and SBCT respectively. Under current Army modernization plans, the Army envisions all three vehicles in service with active and National Guard forces beyond fiscal year 2028. The ECPs are designed to address Congress’ concern regarding these vehicles’ long-term effectiveness.

The Army's six modernization priorities are long-range precision fires, a next-generation combat vehicle, future vertical lift platforms, a mobile and expeditionary Army network, air and missile defense capabilities, and Soldier lethality. The new vehicles will exceed the Army’s current lethality and survivability requirements and include technologies—like autonomy and robotics—and be lighter and more fuel efficient.

The U.S. Army is implementing a significant change unveiled during the 2018 Maneuver Warfighter Conference, held at the Maneuver Center of Excellence, Ft. Benning, GA. In a briefing by Brig. Gen. Ross Coffman, director of the Army’s NGCV Cross Functional Team, it was disclosed that under the new design, NGCV will now encompass five programs:

1. Abrams Replacement
2. Mobile Protected Firepower
3. Armored Multipurpose Vehicle
4. Robotic Combat Vehicle [Wingman]
5. Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle (OMFV)
6. Bradley Replacement

According to Mark Milley, the Army's Chief of Staff, the NGCV will eventually replace the Bradley, Stryker, and Abrams in U.S. service. The current NGCV-P aims at only replacing the Bradley. Funding for further NGCV projects has not been requested or approved.

Next Generation Combat Vehicles were initiallly two platforms, both optimized for operating in dense urban terrain.

1. The NGCV Robotic Combat Vehicle is an optimally unmanned close combat platform that delivers decisive lethality and overmatch in a future operational environment as part of a unmanned/manned team executing combined arms maneuver.
2. The NGCV Manned Fighting Vehicle maneuvers Soldiers to a point of positional advantage to engage in close combat and deliver decisive lethality during the execution of combined arms maneuver, while simultaneously controlling maneuver robotics and semi-autonomous systems.

Decisive lethality ensures freedom of action by destroying our pacing threat’s tier-one fighting vehicles and employing the effects of manned/unmanned teaming (both air and ground) in decisive cross domain maneuver, with shock effect, direct fire, multi-domain reconnaissance, and organic fires.

The US Army Contracting Command (ACC) launched market research in March 2017 to find manufacturers or companies to find a solutions and collaborate with US Army for the development in the Next Generation Combat Vehicle (NGCV) DA2 Prototype Project effort. The NGCV is not the Future Fighting Vehicle mentioned in the Army’s combat vehicle modernization strategy, but it could also be a single combat vehicle that replaces the Abrams, the Bradley, potentially even the [Mobile Protected Firepower] MPF solution or potentially even a Stryker.

The US Army TARDEC is looking for new, innovative engineering organizations from industry, academia and defense communities to partner in the development of its Next Generation Combat Vehicle Prototype (NGCV). The NGCV prototyping effort is a multimillion dollar, and multi-year project focused on the design and integration of component technologies into a prototype combat vehicle platform. Solicitation of this effort will be made through the Detroit Arsenal Automotive Other Transaction Agreement (DA2OTA), managed by the Defense Automotive Technologies Consortium (DATC), US Army TARDEC, and the Army Contracting Command – Warren.

Army Contracting Command (ACC) – Warren is conducting market research to identify sources interested in the Next Generation Combat Vehicle (NGCV) DA2 Prototype Project effort. The focus of the NGCV Detroit Arsenal Automotive ( DA2) Prototype Project effort is to solicit for an industry team to serve as a collaborative partner with U.S. Army Tank Automotive Research, Development, and Engineering Center (TARDEC) in planning, scheduling, designing, engineering, fabricating, integrating, testing, and demonstrating the absolute latest vehicle technologies from industry and government into a set of ground combat vehicle prototypes.

The resulting Industry Team will work as part of an Industry-Government Team to integrate best of breed international and industry technologies, alongside component and sub-system level technologies already developed by TARDEC. The resulting vehicle prototype will present an integrated solution which provides for state-of-the-art advances in autonomous and intelligent systems, vehicle safety, vehicle light weighting, connected vehicle technologies, advanced energy storage, advanced propulsion, and advanced suspension technologies.

The maneuver concept, which was developed simultaneously with the Army Training and Doctrine Command's overall multi-domain operating concept, describes how Soldiers will fight against threats in the 2020-2040 timeframe. The main theme is that Soldiers would be called upon to juggle capabilities in the land, air, maritime, cyber and space domains while maneuvering in a contested environment.

The concept also draws ideas from TRADOC's Russian New Generation Warfare Study, which looked at how the Russian military has fought in Ukraine using capabilities such as electronic warfare, long-range artillery and unmanned aerial systems. A more complex battlefield being predicted by planners would also require new combat vehicles, which had its own strategy released in 2015 and is now being carried out.

Army leaders were targeting two sets of plans for vehicles. One is a set of light infantry vehicles with more mobility and firepower that includes the Ground Mobility Vehicle, the Light Reconnaissance Vehicle and a Mobile Protected Firepower Vehicle. The other is the Next Generation Combat Vehicle, which is being considered for the long term, with a cross-functional integrated concept development team planning to study it in 2017, according to Army officials. But with no ground combat vehicle currently in development, the M1 Abrams tank and Bradley fighting vehicle were likely to remain the Army's workhorses for decades to come.

One requirement for future combat vehicles, according to the maneuver concept, is to reduce the logistics demand associated with those vehicles, since units may have to execute missions semi-independently and in contested environments for up to a week. One example of reducing that logistics load would be ensuring the vehicle can go longer between refueling. To accomplish this, future vehicles could weigh up to 50 percent less than current vehicles. They would be constructed with lighter materials, new joining techniques and innovative protection systems that weigh less than today's armor.

The Army's Next Generation Combat Vehicle might run on alternative energy sources and may feature directed-energy weapons, advanced-composite armor and an active protection system, experts said 03 November 2016. "There's a solid four years of analysis that has to occur" before decisions are made on procurement requirements, said Col. William T. Nuckols, director of the Mounted Requirements Division at the Maneuver Center of Excellence. Nuckols chaired a panel at the Association of the U.S. Army's Institute of Land Warfare "Hot Topic" forum focusing on Army ground combat platforms.

"This is not a short-term endeavor," Nuckols said. "This is a multi-decade effort to get us to the first unit equipped in 2035." But fielding the Next Generation Combat Vehicle by then means major decisions must be made by 2025, he said, just eight years from now. "We've got to provide some focus for our science and technology partners," he said, three of whom were also on the panel.

Dr. John Gordon IV, a senior policy researcher for RAND Corp., said the threats facing combat vehicles in the future will shape the Next Generation Combat Vehicle. The biggest threats to combat vehicles now are rocket-propelled grenades, armor-piercing-guided munitions known as APGMs, and improvised explosive devices or mines, he said. "Non-state actors are heavily armed with these systems, as well as state-level opponents," he said.

The penetrating power of shape-charged weapons have "increased dramatically," he said. Many now have tandem warheads to deal with things like explosive-reactive armor. "Modern APGMs can go through a meter of armor plate after they blast through an explosive-reactive armor array," Gordon said. "That's pretty difficult to cope with."

Cyber disruption and electronic warfare also pose significant threats, he said, adding that tactical nuclear weapons should not be ruled out either. "The unfortunate reality is that, as we consider the middle-tier opponents, ... we can't ignore the possibility that nuclear weapons can be used," Gordon said. The Russians, especially, talk a lot about tactical nukes, Gordon said. He recommended that the military consider hardening future vehicles against electromagnetic pulse and biochemical threats.

John Paulson, senior director of engineering and project management for General Dynamics Land Systems, said biofuels offer a cheaper and readily available alternative to diesel or gas. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is currently experimenting with algae to produce biofuels. Hydrogen fuel-cell technology is available now, he said, but it's dense. Hydrogen fuel cells today would need to be two or three times the size of diesel fuel tanks.

"Fuel cells coupled with other technology, like high-capacity batteries" might be able to energize weapons like lasers, he said. Fuel cells can also be coupled with diesel to save money on fuel and decrease the logistics footprint on the battlefield, he said. And electric energy from braking can also be stored in capacitors and re-used. A turbocharger can also recover waste energy from the exhaust system, he said. This technology is currently being used in Formula One racing cars. Electricity can be generated from the expanding exhaust fumes, and heat loss from vehicles can also be converted to energy.

"The big advantage of electric drives," Paulson said, "is we'll be able to supply more power to combat vehicles to support future weapons like high-intensity lasers, rail guns, or active protection systems and improved situational awareness electronics."

While laser technology is emerging for weapons, Dr. Bryan Cheeseman said more research must be conducted on using directed-energy for vehicle protection. Cheeseman is the team leader of the Material Manufacturing and Technology Branch, Army Research Laboratory. Vehicles of the future will need 360-degree protection, he said. Threats from above could come in the form of unmanned aircraft; threats on the side from conventional weapons; and threats underneath from IEDs.

Active protection systems could detect and destroy incoming rounds, he said. Additionally, more science and technology focus should be aimed at using directed energy as force-field-type protection. Many advanced-composite materials are being looked at for armor protection, he said, adding that nanotechnology and nano-grain metals are also possibilities. External suspension is another technology that can help protect against underbelly blasts, he said. Hydro-mechanical and hydro-pneumatic suspension are among them. "From an underbody perspective, we can say we can mitigate a large portion of the threats that are out there," Cheesman said. But that comes with more weight and cost.

While specific details are still being developed for the Next Generation Combat Vehicle, panel moderator retired Brig. Gen. Thomas Goedkoop, vice president of Booz Allen Hamilton, expressed hope that the panel had shed light on what the future could hold. "What is the Next Generation Combat Vehicle?" Nuckols had asked, up front. The Next Generation Combat Vehicle could be a single combat vehicle that replaces the Abrams tank, the Bradley and even the Stryker, he said. "We don't know yet." It could be a family of vehicles similar to the original Future Combat Systems program. "We're trying diligently to pay attention to [Future Combat Systems] and the lessons learned from that," Nuckols said.

"What we're building now is the execution plan associated with that," Wesley said at the Association of the United States Army's global force symposium 21 March 2017. "In other words: decision points, decision space, [and issuing] criteria, so we can pull the levers to get money into the right categories to actually do something." Wesley said "M1 and Bradley take us out to 2050, which is not sustainable if you want a weapons system that's going to be dominant."

The issue of demand reduction should be looked at more holistically since there are several areas where it can be achieved, according to Maj. Gen. Cedric Wins, head of the Army Research, Development and Engineering Command. Autonomous systems could lighten platforms and the loads of individual Soldiers, while improved energy efficiency could allow vehicles to operate longer and travel farther, he said. "We can't constrain our thinking," Wins said. "We have to keep our range of thoughts and ideas a little bit broader."

Partnerships must also be strengthened to prevent overreach, he said, so those working on how the Army will fight in the future know where technology is at now and where it is heading. "We have to be willing to collaborate not only with industry and academia but also within the Army," he said.

With advanced power architecture’s like the NGCVEPA (Next Generation Combat Vehicle Electrical Power Architecture) large amounts of power and as a result current are being generated and distributed throughout a vehicle. This leads to very large copper power distribution cables being required to facilitate this large current distribution. Significant size and weight can be reduced with advanced materials which have the potential for higher conductivity / lower resistivity cables when compare to a pure copper cable.

The goal of this proposed project is to develop, demonstrate, build and characterize several different gauge size cables which will be capable of increase current carrying capacity as compared to a standard copper electrical power cable of similar gauge size. If this proposed SBIR is successful, there would be the potential for significant weight and size reductions in power cables across the military, industrial, and commercial markets.

In FY16, the Army initiated a major, multi-year effort Combat Vehicle Prototyping (CVP). The CVP Program is designed to mature technologies to address technical and integration challenges facing the ground combat fleet in the areas of mobility, survivability, lethality and vehicle architecture. CVP focuses on maturation and demonstration of combat vehicle sub-systems such as engines, transmissions, ballistic protection, blast mitigation, lethality subsystems and advanced fire controls. The goal is to mature and demonstrate, by FY19, a series of subsystems that inform current and Next Generation Combat Vehicle designs and requirements.

These activities will ensure future acquisition program requirements are informed with what is technically feasible and affordable, while driving down technical risks. Technologies developed under combat vehicle prototyping are scalable and modular to ensure applicability for current and future vehicles across the combat fleet. In FY17, the Army will expand the combat vehicle prototyping activities by funding the integration of these subsystems to create a full system prototype that can be used by operators to provide performance feedback and design insights before the Army finalized formal requirements for the Army’s next combat system.

The United States Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC) is developing new protection systems for Next-Generation Combat Vehicles that could supports infantry units in 21st century combat environments. According to TARDEC, the NGCV will receive agile layered protection for evolving vehicle protection needs.

In particular, the NGCV will be eqquiped with new modern Explosive Reactive Armor (ERA) kits which works on a completely different principle than conventional protection system. The new modern armor kits designed to be installed on armor-capable vehicles such as medium and main battle tanks or infantry combat vehicles. The kit includes special layered ERA modules in combination with V cross-section cassette installed at an angle to the main module. The reactive tiles prevent penetration of various weapon systems, such as RPG (rocket-propelled grenades).

In a construction of new modern ERA kits were will be leverage current armor mechanisms, with new materials and design approaches to achieve a weight reduction in integrated vehicle armor protection. In addition, designers focus on reduction of integration burden to minimize cost impact while reducing overall system weight. New modules are specifically designed to eliminate or minimize damage to adjacent modules, thus allowing increased effectiveness and services throughout the ground domain lifecycle.

An initial set of six experimental prototypes for the NGCV -- two manned and four robotic combat vehicles -- is slated to be delivered by the end of fiscal year 2019. That delivery will kick off hands-on testing with Soldiers in early fiscal 2020. Two more sets of experimental prototypes will then be delivered two years apart and build on previous findings. The process, leaders say, could accelerate the Army's fielding of a new combat vehicle in fiscal year 2028.

Manned-unmanned teaming will be the major theme in the experiments, according to Col. Gerald Boston, deputy director of the Cross-Functional Team in charge of developing the vehicle. "We believe, in the future operating environment, manned/unmanned teaming at the tactical level is how we are going to retain overmatch and deliver decisive lethality as part of combined arms maneuver. Making contact with the smallest element possible allows the maneuver commander to maintain freedom of action," he said.

That's something the NGCV CFT's director, Brig. Gen. David Lesperance, said can't happen soon enough. "The character of warfare is changing and driving the need to reassess how the Army delivers, operates, and sustains future combat capabilities," Lesperance said. "The Army's current main battle tanks and infantry fighting vehicles are not optimized for future operational environments." For the NGCV, initial prototypes will likely have two Soldiers in control of a robotic vehicle -- one to remotely drive it and the other to operate its weapon system. "Where we would like to go is get to one Soldier per remote combat vehicle and maybe someday one Soldier controlling multiple," said Col. Jim Schirmer, project manager for the Army's armored fighting vehicles. In doing so, autonomous behaviors will need to be further developed throughout the incremental stages of prototyping.

By late fiscal 2021, additional prototypes using lessons learned are expected to be produced and delivered, followed by experimentation in fiscal 2022. There will be about a platoon-sized set of vehicles available to enhance manned-unmanned capabilities and begin to integrate fire and maneuver tactics. The weapon system and other vehicle requirements, such as armor and sensors, will also be determined during this stage. The second set is going to be purpose-built. Both the manned and unmanned vehicles will be built from the ground up and will not use surrogates.

The final effort is potentially a company-sized set of purpose-built vehicles that will likely be delivered in late fiscal 2023 and experimented on throughout fiscal 2024. Those vehicles would test all elements of manned-unmanned teaming and be integrated into a unit for extensive training at home and during a combat training center rotation.