STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich., 12 May 2005. General Dynamics Land Systems has been awarded a $282 million modification to its $2 billion contract for the engineering development and demonstration of a family of Manned Ground Vehicles (MGV) for the U.S. Army's Future Combat Systems (FCS) program.
Boeing Integrated Defense Systems awarded the contract modification in its role as the FCS Lead Systems Integrator (LSI) for the U.S. Army. The contract was originally awarded December 2003.
Under the contract, General Dynamics is leading the Manned Ground Vehicle common design team through engineering development, testing and demonstration of prototypes. General Dynamics is also responsible for the development and integration of the Mounted Combat System, Command and Control Vehicle and the Reconnaissance and Surveillance Vehicle. The modification provides for a transition effort that includes risk reduction features for the program while it also accelerates the insertion of FCS technologies into existing Army forces.
"This modification indicates that the U.S. Army continues to show great confidence in the importance and value of the FCS program. We are committed to supporting rapid insertion of FCS technologies into the Army's current force of tanks, artillery and infantry," said Dr. N.S. Sridharan, Land Systems vice president, engineering programs, and FCS program lead executive. "Equipping joint forces with the best capability available is essential and development of the FCS-equipped unit of action is a critical element in the process."
The modification provides for an added technical maturation effort that includes a component maturation plan and reliability investment plan for risk mitigation; engineering support for an additional FCS MGV variant -- the FCS Recovery and Maintenance Vehicle (FRMV); an added Active Protection System (APS) "spin out" program to develop APS for the Army's Stryker eight-wheeled armored vehicles; and for support of accelerated fielding of the Non-Line-of- Sight Cannon (NLOS-C) increment 0 MGV variant.
This additional work will be performed with the existing workforce at General Dynamics Land Systems locations in Sterling Heights and Muskegon, Mich., and Woodbridge, Va.
This modification extends program deliverables three years through September 2012.
General Dynamics and United Defense Limited Partnership, which has received similar contracts, have joined together to form an integrated design team to develop and demonstrate a family of eight manned ground vehicles sharing common components and subsystems. These new vehicles will be significantly smaller and lighter than the systems they replace and are designed to fit inside a C-130 transport aircraft.
The Army and its LSI team, Boeing and Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), in May 2003 began the system development and demonstration phase of the FCS program, a joint, networked "system of systems" that includes 18 different platforms, including unmanned sensors and aerial vehicles, and both manned and unmanned ground vehicles, all connected via an advanced communications network.
General Dynamics, headquartered in Falls Church, Va., employs approximately 70,100 people worldwide and had 2004 revenue of $19.2 billion. The company is a market leader in mission-critical information systems and technologies; land and expeditionary combat systems, armaments and munitions; shipbuilding and marine systems; and business aviation. For more information, see www.generaldynamics.com.
