By
Sydney J. Freedberg Jr. on December 18, 2020 at 3:39 PM
Army concept for how its future Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle attacks
WASHINGTON: The Army has redesigned its Request For Proposals to replace the Bradley troop carrier to give industry “maximum latitude” to innovate, Brig. Gen. Richard Coffman told reporters this morning. It’s even removed all classified data to let foreign companies participate fully. But one thing will be absolutely mandatory: compliance with a new set of technical standards and interfaces – known as a Modular Open Systems Architecture – that the service is developing for all its future combat vehicles.
Most Infantry Fighting Vehicles on the global market – including the only publicly announced contender, the Rheinmetall Lynx – look a lot like the Reagan-era M2 Bradley: They’re tracked machines with a driver in the hull, a commander and gunner in the turret, and five to nine infantry soldiers in the back, transported under ar
Biden’s Budget
In the absence of news, we’re sticking by our way-too-early predictions of flat defense spending, at best especially with Congress on the verge of passing another coronavirus stimulus package, this one totalling nearly $1 trillion. If Republicans retain control of the Senate, expect lesser cuts. If Democrats take control after two early-January Georgia runoffs, expect deeper cuts as they focus on priorities other than defense.
In the meantime, the Trump administration last week released what it calls the “FY 2022 Fiscal Planning Framework,” a blueprint for what it calls the Pentagon’s top spending priorities. It’s an unusual attempt by a lame-duck administration to shape the next budget, and may become an important reference for congressional Republicans when they review Biden’s fiscal 2022 budget proposal. Typically, an incoming administration sends its first budget plan to lawmakers a few months later than the more typical February delivery. Tha