ST Kinetics, SAIC team up to develop ground combat vehicle prototype
NewsOctober 06, 2017
RESTON, Va. ST Kinetics and Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC) are partnering to rapidly develop combat vehicle prototypes to meet the U.S. Army?s need as part of the Mobile Protected Firepower (MPF) program. The goal is to develop and integrate a vehicle that offers the Army an innovative solution that provides infantry forces access to combat environments in 21st century operations.
Based on ST Kinetics’ Next Generation Armored Fighting Vehicle (NGAFV) chassis and CMI Defence’s Cockerill Series 3105 turret currently in production, SAIC will compete for an Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) contract to build prototypes that incorporate a lightweight combat vehicle design while still providing mobility and lethality for Army units. Such a vehicle will enable freedom of movement and action, specifically for restrictive, urban operations but tailorable for full-spectrum combat environments.
SAIC’s entry into the MPF competition builds on continued momentum in combat vehicle modernization, to include the company’s recent collaboration with the Detroit Automotive Technologies Consortium (DATC) and the U.S. Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC) to assist in the development of the next-generation combat vehicle - experimental prototype (NGCV-EP).
“SAIC has developed a superior solution that integrates mature, currently produced offerings from our industry partners, ST Kinetics and CMI Defence. By marrying ST Kinetics’ chassis with CMI Defence’s turret, SAIC can deliver a reliable vehicle that gives soldiers a new capability in combat environments,” says Jim Scanlon, SAIC senior vice president and general manager of the Defense Systems Customer Group.
“Our NGAFV is an advanced system that is fully digitalized, highly mobile and developed to support networked knowledge-based warfighting. A fleet of seven prototypes had been developed and robustly tested over several years. As the NGAFV will be in production soon, this platform brings minimal technical risk and a robust supply chain to the MPF program,” says Dr. Lee Shiang Long, president of ST Kinetics.
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