Ground Combat Vehicle
The Ground Combat Vehicle (GCV) is a vehicle platform under development by the US Army , which will replace the vehicles of the Heavy Brigade Combat Teams . In the long term, it is also planned to equip the vehicles of the Stryker Brigade Combat Teams with it. The Ground Combat Vehicle is being developed as an alternative to the Manned Ground Vehicles of the Future Combat System , which, due to the experience in Iraq and Afghanistan, was deemed to have insufficient survivability. The program is similar to the Armored Systems Modernization project , which aimed to create a modular vehicle family of comparable load classes.
history
Beginnings
Starting in 1979, the Army conducted a series of analyzes and studies to create a family of armored vehicles, which would significantly simplify battlefield logistics. After a long history of reviews, a reduction in the number of platforms and several renaming, Congress released the money for the ASM program in December 1990 , whereupon the Army awarded AVTA (General Dynamics) and Teledyne Continental Motors (TCM) development contracts. Due to various political concerns, the program was de facto discontinued in 1992 , only the development of the self-propelled howitzer and its supply tank, which was known as the XM2001 Crusader , was advanced . Instead, lighter, more air-transportable vehicles should be used. The first studies on this were published at the beginning of 1996 at the Tank Automotive Command (TACOM).
Since the Revolution in Military Affairs was propagated under Chief of Staff Eric K. Shinseki , a realignment took place in June 1999: To be able to react more quickly to international conflicts, the armored vehicles should be relocatable in a Lockheed C-130, and the tanks should also be in front Location can still be supported by a number of sensors, robots, drones and other systems. Thus the FCS program was born, which represented the second attempt by the US Army to create a future family of tanks. Competing programs like FSCS and Crusader have been discontinued. The technology should flow into the successor systems Future Combat Systems (FCS) and Future Rapid Effect System (FRES), which were planned as vehicle families. The FSCS / TRACER program actually expired and was discontinued in July 2002 after the final assessment phase.
Air transportable tank families
Both the Manned Ground Vehicles (MGV) and the Future Rapid Effect System (FRES) should be able to transport all vehicles in the family with a C-130 to the scene, which required a vehicle weight of around 20 tons without additional armor and very compact dimensions . The platforms should be protected through increased situational awareness and distance-active protective measures . For this reason, Great Britain also withdrew from the GTK Boxer program. However, after the deployment experience in Iraq and Afghanistan, the effectiveness of this concept has been questioned. However, additional demands for better mine protection and additional armor on the vehicle flanks against projectile-forming charges and the use of more robust steel chains led to a higher platform weight of 35-45 tons. The British accepted this weight increase, so that the FRES SCOUT based on the ASCOD 2 will now have a vehicle weight of around 36 tons. Sensor systems and the innovative operating concept also fell victim to this.
Other systems such as the 40 mm automatic cannon with telescopic cartridges are being further developed by Great Britain and France and are to be used as a one-man turret in the FRES SCOUT and Véhicule Blindé de Combat d'Infanterie . The location of targets through their sound output is continued in a simplified form in the Boomerang system . In the Splitterskyddad Enhets platform from BAe Systems, the diesel-electric drive and flat screens, which improve the visibility of conventional corner mirrors through externally mounted video cameras, are built in.
Ground Combat Vehicle
After the FCS was discontinued, the requirements for a new Ground Combat Vehicle were discussed for the first time in June 2009. A request for proposal (RFP ) was issued on February 25, 2010, originally with a period of 60 days, which was later extended by a further 25. In fiscal 2011, $ 934 million was budgeted for development. In the search for inexpensive alternatives to a new development, nine vehicles were examined: the M2A3 Bradley II, a modernized Stryker, a version of the M2A3 as it was used in Iraq, and the XM1230 Caiman Plus MRAP. Furthermore, two unspecified foreign vehicles (possibly Puma and Namer ), the M1126 Stryker Infantry Fighting Vehicle, the M1A2 SEP TUSK Abrams, and a modernized variant of the M1 Abrams. All vehicles were classified by the US Army as inferior to the GCV. On August 25, 2010, the RFP was canceled by Vice Chief of Staff of the Army Peter W. Chiarelli , and a new invitation to tender was published 60 days later. The Army then reduced the funding requirement to $ 462 million in fiscal 2011. The revised tender was announced on November 30, 2010. Three industrial consortia applied for this:
- BAE Systems , Northrop Grumman , QinetiQ North America , Saft Group and iRobot
- General Dynamics Land Systems , Lockheed Martin and Raytheon
- SAIC from Boeing, Krauss-Maffei Wegmann and Rheinmetall Defense. A revised version of the Puma was offered
On August 18th, BAE Systems and General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) received development contracts. BAE received $ 450 million while GDLS received $ 440 million to develop the prototype. SAIC then filed a lawsuit with the Government Accountability Office on August 26, 2011, which was rejected on December 5, 2011. On January 16, the Government Accountability Office cited insufficient distance active protection measures as one of the main reasons. During the negotiation, the program came to a standstill, so that the project will not be pursued until the end of 2011. The financing requirement in fiscal year 2012 is estimated at 884 million US dollars. The program is currently in the 24-month technology development phase , in which the prototypes are being built.
Prototypes
Little is known about the vehicles from BAE and GDLS, and an official XM number is also not yet available. The development efforts are concentrated on the armored personnel carrier variant GCV Infantry Fighting Vehicle, as there is a tender for this. The requirements of the US Army for the GCV IFV are also quite vague, so General Peter W. Chiarelli formulated only four main principles: the ability to transport twelve soldiers, to be used in any kind of combat, a high level of protection and the delivery of the first series vehicle 2018. From further pronouncements it became known that the technologies used must have at least Technology Readiness Level 6. The hard kill system should offer 360 ° protection against RPGs, optionally also against heavy anti-tank missiles and mass ammunition. The cooling capacity should have a growth potential of 30%, the drive should have at least 20%. The vehicle should be equipped with radar and optical sensors to give the crew 360 ° awareness of the situation. Air loading is to take place with C-17 and C-5 transport machines.
- The tank from BAE Systems will be equipped with an electric drive as a serial hybrid . Two in-line six-cylinder series 890 from MTU, which are located on the left and right in the rear of the tank, were selected as the energy source. The energy is then stored in lithium-ion batteries and can be passed on from there to external consumers. The EX-Drive developed by QinetiQ in the front of the tub uses four electric motors with permanent magnets (for reasons of redundancy) , two of which are used for driving and two for controlling, which are connected via a differential gear . The drive power is around 1400 HP (1044 kW). Disc brakes are also integrated into the system, which, like the electronics, are cooled with propylene glycol . The tank capacity is 965 liters. The Bradley's 25 mm M242 Bushmaster , which is housed in an unmanned but accessible tower, was chosen as armament . The vehicle weight is specified by BAE as 53 tons (48 t) in the basic version, with a growth potential of 75 tons (68 t) at the maximum protection level.
- General Dynamics chose a conventional drive. The engine will be a Series 883 diesel from MTU with an output of 1100+ kW, which is also used in the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle , the Merkava battle tank and the EuroPowerPack. For reasons of cost, a variant of the Allison X1100 transmission, which is used in the M1 Abrams , is to be used as the transmission . Nothing was known about the vehicle weight, but it should be in a similar load class .
Versions
Infantry Fighting Vehicle
This version will be the first to replace the outdated M113 armored transport vehicles from 2018, and in the medium term also the M2 Bradley and Stryker ICV. The armored personnel carrier is supposed to transport a crew of three and a group of nine soldiers.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Gina Cavallaro: Panel to Discuss New Ground Combat Vehicle . In: Army Times . Army Times Publishing Company . June 11, 2009. Retrieved December 14, 2009.
- ^ Andrew White: US Army delays GCV deadline . In: Shephard . Shephard Group Limited. April 19, 2010. Retrieved April 19, 2010.
- ^ Army Evaluated Nine Vehicles Against GCV In Analysis Of Alternatives . Inside Washington Publisher. January 2010. Archived from the original on September 28, 2010. Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved January 12, 2011.
- ↑ Kate Brannen: US Army's GCV Delay: Lesson Unlearned? . In: Defense News . Army Times Publishing Company. August 27, 2010. Accessed on September 20, 2010. ( Page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Kate Brannen: Malcolm O'Neill, Acquisition Executive, US Army . In: Defense News . Army Times Publishing Company. September 6, 2010. Accessed on September 20, 2010. ( Page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Defensenews: GAO Denies SAIC Protest of GCV Contract Award
- ↑ Nextgov: Contractor protest derails work on Army ground combat vehicle ( Memento of the original from February 18, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Defensetech: Army's GCV Not Just MGV Warmed Over
- ^ The New York Times - A 1,400-Horsepower Tank, Batteries Included .
- ^ QinetiQ EX-Drive ™ (Electric Drive Propulsion for Tracked Vehicles) . ( Memento of the original from June 25, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 1.4 MB)
- ↑ DoD Buzz: BAE's GCV Weighs 53 Tons, Hybrid
