The U.S. Army officials revealed that a contract for the production of the service’s new Mobile Protected Firepower light tank could be coming in the third quarter of fiscal 2022, Defense News reported Saturday.
The announcement followed a limited-user test in fall 2021 during which Army soldiers tried out the light tank prototypes developed by BAE Systems and General Dynamics‘ land systems business.
“We got what we needed out of the competition, which was prototypes that went through a full range of testing, limited-user testing, soldier touch points,” shared Doug Bush, the Army’s chief acquisition officer, to reporters.
In 2018, the service branch selected BAE and GDLS to produce tanks prototypes that will provide a capability for mobile, protected and direct fires once they were initially deployed in fiscal 2025.
BAE is offering an updated version of the B8 Buford armored gun system with additional capabilities and components, while GDLS is presenting a lightweight chassis with a power pack, advanced suspension and a turret featuring M1 Abrams battle tank technologies.
Recent reports suggest that acquisition officials disqualified BAE from the competition, but the Army has yet to confirm the news’ validity.