On June 28, 2022, it was reported that the US Army, during the competitive process, selected a proposal submitted by General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS, as part of General Dynamics Corporation) for a tracked combat vehicle ("light tank") with cannon armament under the Mobile Protected Firepower (MPF) program, and issued General Dynamics Land Systems a contract for the amount of 320.325 million dollars for the production of the first small-scale batch (Low-Rate Initial Production - LRIP) of 26 MPF machines by October 24, 2024.
One of the prototypes of a tracked combat vehicle developed by General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS, as part of General Dynamics Corporation) under the US Army Mobile Protected Firepower (MPF) program on tests (c) the US Army
The contract includes an option to manufacture 70 more LRIP machines, taking into account the option, the total value of the contract will be $ 1.14 billion. It was reported that out of the first 26 cars, eight will be modified cars of the experimental batch of 12 units used for competitive testing.
It is expected that the first machines will be delivered in less than 19 months - in December 2023. It is planned that the first battalion set of MPF vehicles (42 units) will be delivered by the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2025 (that is, by July 1, 2025), and according to GDLS, the army plans to begin full-scale serial production of vehicles in calendar year 2025.
According to the MPF program, the US Army chose a completely new development vehicle presented by GDLS based on the Griffin II demonstrator, which in turn was based on the Griffin I. demonstrator prototype shown a few years ago. Structurally, Griffin II is the installation of a modified lightweight turret of the M1A2 SEP v.2/v.3 Abrams tank with a new 120 mm XM360 cannon on modified ASCOD 2 tracked chassis used in the new British Ajax tracked combat reconnaissance vehicle (the developers and manufacturers of ASCOD 2 are European companies owned by General Dynamics - Spanish General Dynamics European Land Systems Santa Bárbara Sistemas and Austrian General Dynamics European Land Systems - Steyr), but with a reduction in the number of rollers from seven to six on board. The combat weight of the Griffin II was 32 tons.
However, the final version of the Griffin II-based vehicle, selected by the US Army according to MPF, has a 105 mm XM35 cannon, and the turret has been redesigned with enhanced booking. The combat weight of the final version is believed to be 38 tons. The fire control system is almost completely unified with the M1A2 SEP v tank.3. The crew is four people. An active protection system must be installed.
Recall that the Mobile Protected Firepower (MPF) program, launched by the US Army in 2015, provided for the creation of a tracked combat vehicle weighing at first no more than 32 tons (later the mass limit was raised to 38 tons), equipped with 105 or 120 mm cannon armament and an active protection complex. According to the plan, MPF vehicles should have a higher level of operational and tactical mobility than Abrams tanks.
In December 2018, the US Army issued contracts to BAE Systems and General Dynamics corporations for the development of tracked combat vehicles on a competitive basis under the MPF program in the amount of $375.9 and $ 335 million, respectively, each for the construction and delivery for testing of 12 prototypes of its own version of the MPF machine at the OCD stage (Engineering, Manufacturing, and Development - EMD). The delivery of prototypes was to be started in 14 months and completed in 18-19 months from the date of receipt of the contract.
A competitor to the GDLS proposal was the reincarnation of the famous M8 Armored Gun Systems (AGS) Buford light tank presented by BAE Systems, developed by FMC (then United Defense, now part of BAE Systems) at the turn of the 1980s and 1990s to replace the M551 Sheridan light tank, primarily in airborne formations. In 1995, the M8 tank was adopted by the US Army, but in 1997 the M8 program was canceled before the start of mass production due to cuts in military spending. Only six M8 models were built. The M8 light tank had a combat weight of 19 to 25 tons, depending on the variant of the replaceable protection kit, and was equipped with a 105 mm XM35 cannon in a remote installation with an automatic loader. The proposed updated MPF machine based on the M8 had a significantly redesigned turret with a modular reservation system and the installation of the Elbit Systems Iron Fist active protection complex. The 105 mm XM35 cannon with automatic loading is preserved, the ammunition is 21 shots. A new fire control system and new tracks were applied and the power plant was upgraded, which uses an MTU diesel engine in combination with an Allison 3040MX automatic transmission.
The program for both performers was delayed and the first prototypes of both machines were html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">demonstrated to US Secretary of the Army Ryan McCarthy in Detroit only on April 23, 2020. Only in December 2020 and January 2021, General Dynamics delivered to Fort Bragg for testing on the basis of the 3rd Brigade of the 82nd Airborne Division of the US Army ordered 12 prototypes of its machine according to the EMD stage. The delivery of 12 prototypes of the MPF machine developed by BAE Systems at the EMD stage at Fort Bragg occurred only from January to April 2021.
The testing phase of both types of vehicles at Fort Bragg was completed in early August 2021, and in the fall a stage of military tests with live firing was conducted. According to the results of the tests, already in March 2022, the machine developed by BAE Systems was rejected, so that at the final stage of the MPF program, the GDLS proposal was uncontested.
The US Army plans to purchase 504 MPF production vehicles by 2035. It is planned that these vehicles will be assigned to the infantry brigades (Infantry Brigade Combat teams - IBCT) of the regular army and the National Guard. However, at the same time, the vehicles themselves will be organizationally reduced to separate battalions (apparently, three-company composition), by now the formation of the first four such battalions is planned. The total cost of the life cycle of the program, including production, maintenance over the planned 30-year life of the machines and training, is estimated at about $17 billion.
The first prototype of a tracked combat vehicle developed by General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS, as part of General Dynamics Corporation) under the US Army Mobile Protected Firepower (MPF) program during a demonstration to US Secretary of the Army Ryan McCarthy and the army leadership. Detroit, 04/23/2020 (c) U.S. Secretary of the Army / www.flickr.com/photos/sec-army-pao
One of the prototypes of a tracked combat vehicle developed by General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS, as part of General Dynamics Corporation) under the US Army Mobile Protected Firepower (MPF) program (with) GDLS