The US Army is aging It will replace the Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle one XM30 Mechanized Infantry Fighting Vehicle gave the green light to two industry teams to produce their prototypes. American companies Rheinmetall Vehicles and General Dynamics Land Systems have successfully passed the critical design review stage and have been given permission to begin “metal bending,” or prototype production.
Acceleration and Importance of the Program
The two companies were selected to advance to the detailed design phase in June 2023. The XM30 program was specifically mentioned in a recent memorandum by the Secretary of the Army as a program the service is eager to accelerate. This acceleration is mentioned alongside other major vehicle programs, such as the M1E3, a modernized version of the Abrams tank, and the M10 Booker light tank, which is in low-rate production. The Army is prioritizing the XM30 program while eliminating some other vehicle programs (such as the current Robotic Fighting Vehicle program).
Hybrid Design and Advanced Capabilities
Army officials said the vehicle designed by both teams a hybrid structure and will feature a range of deadly capabilities. These capabilities include:
- 50 mm gun
- Remote controlled turret
- Anti-tank guided missiles
- Used via advanced third-generation forward-looking infrared sensor machine guns
- Integrated protection package
- Armor and signature management capabilities
- Intelligent fire control
These features will enable the XM30 to deliver superior performance on the battlefield and be more resilient to modern threats.
Cost and Schedule
The total value of both contracts signed at the beginning of the design phase is approx. It was $1,6 billionThe total value of the overall program is approximately 45 billion dollars expected to happen.
Companies prototypes In the last fiscal quarter of 2026 aims to produce. After production is completed, vehicle tests and evaluations will begin. The army, To start production in mid-2027 plans to pick a winner. While the ramp-up plans are not yet fully fleshed out, previous plans had shown the first production vehicles to be fielded in fiscal 2029.
Maj. Gen. Glenn Dean, program manager for ground combat systems, said last fall that the Army was moving aggressively between the preliminary design review and the critical design review. Col. Kevin Bradley, who leads combat vehicle modernization at Army Futures Command, said the rapid timeline was made possible by the digital engineering environment and frequent contact with soldiers on physical and virtual mock-ups.
Industrial Teams and Collaborations
The two main industry teams and their collaborations competing in the XM30 program are:
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American Rheinmetall Defense Team: In this team Textron Systems, RTX, L3Harris Technologies and Allison Transmission In addition to well-established defense companies such as, artificial intelligence-focused Anduril Technologies This broad partnership enables different technologies and areas of expertise to be brought together.
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General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) Team: GDL, GM Defense, an expert in autonomy modeling and simulation for the automotive industry Applied Intuition and enabling Switchblade circulation munitions to be integrated into the design AeroVironment GDLS also collaborates with its own in-house General Dynamics Mission Systems continues to work with.
These collaborations aim to leverage cutting-edge technologies and innovative approaches in the development of next-generation combat vehicles. The successful development and fielding of the XM30 will enable the U.S. Army to make a significant leap in combat capability.
