Soon after the US Army announced it has narrowed its designs for its Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle (OMFV) to two companies, American Rheinmentall and General Dynamics, the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that the programme’s force structure and operational concepts lack validity and reliability.
The US Department of Defense (DoD) has released details of the contracts for the two designs. The department awarded American Rheinmetall $812.5m and General Dynamics $768.6m for their design prototypes for phases three and four of the OMFV programme. The DoD expects the designs to be ready by 27 December 2027.
After several unsuitable programmes – from the Future Combat System in 1999 to the Next Generation Combat Vehicle in 2018, from which the OMFV developed – the US Army seeks to replace its enduring fleet of Bradley fighting vehicles. These platforms first entered service in the US and Saudi Arabia in 1981.
The GAO found that the Army’s report to Congress did not include enough information to draw conclusions regarding the validity and reliability of the force structure and operational concepts analyses completed as of March 2023, despite the fact that the Army has already narrowed its choices down to two competing designs.
The Army noted that it intends to conduct a complete analysis of the OMFV force structure and operational concepts over the next 18 to 24 months, which may alter the two company’s designs amid the manufacturing process.
The report also contained information about the combat effectiveness of the OMFV. This portion of the report did not provide quantative metrics that would have supported GAO’s assessment of the validity of the information.
Army officials also failed to present information about data that would have allowed an assessment of their reliability. Army officials excluded some critical details due to security classification.
Global infantry fighting vehicle market
GlobalData projects Europe to dominate the global land vehicles market over the next decade, closely followed by North America. The infantry fighting vehicles segment will dominate with a share of 32.7% over 2023–33.
GlobalData projects North America to account for 21.6% of the global military land vehicles market in the given period. The US Army and Marine Corps will account for this growth due to the implementation of their major procurement programmes. The most notable are the OMFV, Joint Light Tactical Vehicle, and Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle (AMPV) programmes. These will modernise the country’s fleet of vehicles and provide increased mobility and armored protection to its armed forces deployed around the world.
