In August 2014,
General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) and
BAE Systems Land and Armaments were awarded $7.9 million each to develop technologies from the
Ground Combat Vehicle program for the Future Fighting Vehicle. In May 2015, General Dynamics and BAE were awarded a further $28 million. Citing budget constraints, in August 2015, the Army delayed the FFV's acquisition decision from FY2021 to FY2029. The Army said it was choosing to instead work on short-term capability gaps. In November 2016, Army officials said they were standing up a Next Generation Combat Vehicle program to field a family of combat vehicles by 2035. Officials said this strategy was not necessarily going to be centered around an infantry fighting vehicle, but would likely be a family of vehicles that could potentially replace the
M1 Abrams,
Bradley Fighting Vehicle,
Mobile Protected Firepower and even the
Stryker. Army officials conceded that the program was as yet unfunded. In June 2018, the Army established the Next Generation Combat Vehicle (NGCV) program to replace the M2 Bradley. In October 2018, the program was re-designated as the Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle (OMFV). The
NGCV program was expanded as a portfolio of next-generation vehicles including tanks and the Bradley-based
Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle. In March 2019, the Army issued a
request for proposals. By January 2020, the pool of competitors narrowed down a variant of the
Lynx KF41 developed as a joint venture between
Raytheon and
Rheinmetall, and the
Griffin III developed by GDLS, derived from the
GDELS ASCOD 2 /
GD UK Ajax. The Raytheon-Rheinmetall prototype was disqualified after failing to meet a deadline to ship the prototype to
Aberdeen Proving Ground by the required date. The sole remaining competitor, GDLS, was also disqualified because its prototype was too heavy to meet requirements that two fit in a single
C-17. The aggressive pace and stringent objectives of the program were seen as unrealistic by potential competitors. The program placed much of the cost burden of development on private contractors, causing many major contractors to forego participation. Acknowledging this, in February 2020, the Army announced it would restart the program with more responsibility for funding being taken on by the service. == Phase 2 Contracts Awarded ==