Congressman Ryan Secures $65 million for Abrams Tank Modernization (14. Juli 2021)
Congressman Tim Ryan (OH-13), Vice Chairman of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, today announces that, working together with House Appropriations Committee Chair Rosa DeLauro (CT-03) and colleagues on the Subcommittee, he has secured committee approval of $65 million to upgrade the M1 Abrams main battle tank, which is produced in Lima, Ohio.
The funding secured by Congressman Ryan will extend the service life of the tank and also integrate an unmanned turret. Additionally, it will help to develop the physical architecture and mechanical requirements needed to add an Autoloader and Automated Ammunition Handling System to the Abrams, evaluate current and emerging candidates for an Integrated Active Protection System, and develop new Abrams mobility and power architecture for conversion to a Hybrid Electric Drive propulsion and power generation system.
The Defense spending bill now moves to the full House for consideration before advancing to the Senate.
Defense Acquisitions Annual Assessment:
Drive to Deliver Capabilities Faster Increases Importance of Program Knowledge and Consistent Data for Oversight
GAO-20-439: Published: Jun 3, 2020. Publicly Released: Jun 3, 2020.
Five teams win initial US Army OMFV design contracts
On 23 July the service announced that American Rheinmetall Vehicle, BAE Systems, General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS), a Hanwha Defense-Oshkosh Defense team, and Point Blank Enterprises will begin working on M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) replacement vehicle designs immediately. The total value of the five contracts is placed at USD299.4 million but the army did not detail the individual contract award figures. However, Janes has previously reported that each contract for this phase is worth up to USD60 million.
The one-star general declined to disclose how many companies submitted proposals for this programme phase, but at least six companies had announced that they were vying for one of these contracts. Mettle Ops was one of these companies and did not receive a green light to proceed at this time.