In the dynamic landscape of modern warfare, technological advancements and strategic collaborations are indispensable elements of the Army’s Next-Generation Combat Vehicle modernization program. One such groundbreaking development is Team Lynx’s XM30, developed by a formidable team built on the foundation of innovation, experience, and strategic collaboration.

American Rheinmetall and Team Lynx are developing a next-generation combat vehicle – the Lynx XM30 – that achieves the Army’s requirements for a combat vehicle with unbeatable protection, unsurpassed firepower, and unrelenting mobility. Operating with other units or independently, the vehicle can sense, move, and strike in a connected, rapidly changing, complex, and lethal operational environment unlike any combat vehicle before, providing the Army a decisive edge on the battlefield.

American Rheinmetall was one of two companies down selected by the Army in 2023 to compete in phase 3 and 4 of the XM30 Combat Vehicle program, driving towards a production decision in 2027.

Technological Advancements

At the heart of the Lynx XM30 lies numerous technological advancements that redefine the capabilities of armored combat vehicles. The Lynx XM30 far exceeds current generation combat vehicles through its transformational design and capabilities. While traditional combat vehicles focus on the time-honored “iron triangle” of mobility, protection, and firepower, what makes the Lynx XM30 truly transformational is the addition of its hyper connected, all digital, networked command and control capabilities, enabling and simplifying multi-domain maneuver.

Moreover, Team Lynx’s XM30 incorporates a modular design, open architecture, and power generation that enables the rapid integration of new technologies as they become available. This provides the Lynx XM30 and our Soldiers overmatch now and in the future.

Enhanced Situational Awareness

In an era where information is a decisive factor in the outcome of military engagements, the Lynx XM30 sets new standards for situational awareness. Equipped with a sophisticated sensor suite, including advanced sights, 360o situational awareness cameras, radar systems, and infrared sensors, the vehicle provides a comprehensive and real-time picture of the battlefield.

The fusion of sensor data through advanced processing algorithms allows the Lynx XM30 to generate actionable intelligence for its crew, enabling them to make informed decisions in the heat of battle. The vehicle’s integrated augmented reality display further enhances crew situational awareness, offering a 360-degree view of the surroundings, even in challenging environments.

Strategic Industrial Partnerships

American designed and manufactured –a key strength of Team Lynx lies in its strategic partnerships among U.S. defense industrial base leaders, each contributing specialized expertise to ensure the success of this ambitious project.

Team Lynx is led by American Rheinmetall of Sterling Heights, MI, a renowned innovator of advanced tracked and wheeled combat vehicles. American Rheinmetall is the Team Lynx prime contractor, responsible for design authority, integration, and program management.

Textron Systems provides prototyping and manufacturing support to Team Lynx at their world class Slidell, LA facility. Textron Systems is an industry leader in unmanned land, surface and air products, services, and support for aerospace and defense customers. The company brings robotic and systems integration capabilities gained from current and previous programs of records across all domains. Textron’s Slidell, LA facility has produced more than 10,000 vehicles for more than 15 programs of record and offers 158,000sqft of total manufacturing space, and 30,000sqft of warehousing,

Raytheon, one of the largest and most capable aerospace and defense companies in the world, brings to Team Lynx expertise in digital design, modeling and simulation, and integration of complex systems onto platforms. For XM30, Raytheon brings forward the new Multi-Mission Launcher which can fire the company’s TOW™, Javelin, and the Coyote® Block 3 loitering munition as well as other effectors directed by the Army on the technology pathway. The company’s extensive experience, spanning a broad portfolio of command and control, sensor and effector solutions, is leveraged in the development, evaluation, and iteration of advanced system concepts.

L3Harris Technologies is an agile defense technology innovator, rapidly delivering forward-looking solutions that solve customers’ toughest challenges. L3Harris’ multi-domain expertise in open architecture, vehicle mission systems, cybersecurity, and communications brings tremendous capability to Team Lynx. Its history of using a modular open systems approach is fundamental to delivering a cutting-edge combat vehicle with the ability to rapidly adapt as modern and contemporary threats emerge and evolve.

Allison Transmission is the leading designer and manufacturer of vehicle propulsion solutions for commercial and defense vehicles, the largest global manufacturer of medium-and-heavy-duty fully automatic transmissions and a leader in electrified propulsion systems. Allison will provide the eGen Force™ Transmission for the Lynx XM30 that will enable electric hybrid propulsion as well as electric-only silent maneuverability.

Anduril Industries provides next-generation software-defined, hardware enabled systems and brings its deep experience in software development, mission autonomy, systems integration, and command and control to Team Lynx. Anduril’s software provides the necessary automation within the XM30 to enable two-Soldier crew operations and enhances mission effectivity and efficiency. Anduril’s control software will have continuous and rapid development, integration, and delivery cycles, enabling persistent modernization for CVs to rapidly adapt to constantly evolving operational and threat environments.

Future Possibilities

Team Lynx’s XM30 is a testament to the power of collaboration and innovation. With its advanced features, strategic partnerships, and commitment to pushing the boundaries of what is possible, the Lynx XM30 represents a pivotal moment in the evolution of armored combat vehicles.

Looking ahead, the Lynx XM30 is positioned to become a linchpin in the Army’s combat vehicle fleet, providing our Soldiers unmatched survivability, lethality, and mobility – and battlefield overmatch for generations to come.

The U.S. Army has a long and impressive history of making and inspiring new inventions. It includes some foundational technology in use today – all modern computers come from systems built by the Army Research Laboratory. But it also covers more practical territory, like duct tape, insect spray and aviator sunglasses.

Whatever the technology, all had one goal in mind, and that is to ensure the U.S. Army was better equipped than its adversaries.

Today that same spirit lives on in efforts to create new weapons and other systems to keep the Army ahead of new and rapidly evolving threats. To feed this innovation and stay at the technological forefront, L3Harris is working with our Army customers to use Modular Open Systems Approaches (MOSA) to preserve advantages for soldiers in the field.

MOSA ties into the Army’s Futures Command (AFC) which formed in 2018 to focus on modernization efforts. Its eight cross functional teams tie into Army priorities, including Next Generation Combat Vehicles (NGCV), Army networks and Future Vertical Lift (FVL).

These teams are part of the Army’s continuous technology modernization and transformation effort — essential as adversaries continue to become more agile. MOSA is at the forefront of the AFC’s modernization effort, which the Army has indicated is paramount in achieving overmatch, commonality and total lifecycle affordability.

The magnitude of MOSA’s impact on Army modernization is far-reaching. It is more than following a defined set of standards, it’s an approach that enables latest technology integration at the speed of relevancy, whether it be weapons, navigation or communication. It ensures sustained interoperability and protected operations on the future battlefield – wherever that may be.

 

WHY IS IT SO IMPORTANT TO THE ARMY?

As MOSA quickly becomes an accepted approach within the Army and its industry partners, it becomes important to take a deeper dive into its strategy.

The Army adopted a MOSA technical and business approach to ensure its industry partners design affordable and adaptable systems that work in unison – with a consistent set of open interfaces and modular hardware and software elements. With industry partners implementing MOSA, the Army can now integrate new hardware or software solutions without having to make significant changes to the overall platform, as long as the solution conforms to the Army’s selected open interface standards.

This approach considerably reduces cost and downtime and rapidly provides the warfighter with the latest innovative, cutting-edge technology. This capability is critical when facing today’s ever-increasingly agile and adaptable near-peer threats.

 

HOW DO WE GET THERE?

For the Army to succeed at integrating open-systems approaches, consistent interfaces across multiple platforms, services and allies need to be a focus. This creates much larger markets, encourages industry adoption and investment, and allows for greater reuse and simplified digital interoperability.

Commitment in the form of strong “shall” statements in contracts will ensure ambiguous “do MOSA to the maximum extent practicable” jargon is eliminated, bringing the true industry experts into focus. Standards that come with objective measures of compliance and conformance are necessary to ensure the Army is truly getting an open system.

As a long-standing MOSA industry partner, L3Harris continues to contribute both expertise and technologically advanced solutions for many of the Army’s modernization priorities. One such effort is the Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle (OMFV) which will replace the currently fielded M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicle, part of the Next-Generation Combat Vehicle (NGCV) portfolio of programs.

As an integration partner to American Rheinmetall (AR), the prime on the program, L3Harris is providing leading-edge sights, communications and other mission capabilities to ARV’s Lynx offering, as well as providing MOSA subject-matter expertise.

“Lynx provides warfighters with leading-edge technology to dominate future battlefields,” said Matt Warnick, Managing Director for American Rheinmetall. “A big part of retaining overmatch is modular open systems approaches and digital engineering, which L3Harris is a partner in providing, a strength of the American Rheinmetall team and a benefit to the soldiers.”

 

OPENLY WORKING TOGETHER

L3Harris understands that to remain dominant, the Army must evolve faster and be more adaptable than its adversaries. As an industry partner to the Army, L3Harris continues to advance MOSA strategies and deliver verifiable open-systems solutions in the systems they provide.

As L3Harris continues to expand MOSA adoption into its latest technology offerings, the company remains committed to ensuring warfighters are mission ready by shortening technology development timelines, reducing maintenance and upgrade costs while creating interoperability and avoiding vendor lock so the Army can dominate the future battlefield.

As an example of its commitment to ensuring the latest technology and advancements are provided to the warfighter, L3Harris has recently introduced the Agile Development Group (ADG), an innovative team of engineers, program managers, technicians and operations professionals focused on accelerating capability development to address emerging threats and solve customers’ most vexing problems.

“We understand that to remain dominant, the U.S. must evolve faster and be more adaptable than its adversaries,” L3Harris Space and Airborne Systems President Ed Zoiss said. “This is only possible with MOSA, and we are committed to the Army’s mission to stay head of rapidly evolving threats by delivering technology, faster and more efficiently than ever before”.

 

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Backed by Textron Systems’ strong manufacturing history, Team Lynx is poised to deliver an elite, advanced Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle (OMFV) to the U.S. Army that provides overmatch today and tomorrow.

When Textron Systems agreed to team with American Rheinmetall to become a part of “Team Lynx,” the atmosphere was one of enthusiasm. “We’re excited to be part of the process because of what we’re able to bring to the table,” said Rich Ledet, Director of Manufacturing for Land Systems at Textron Systems. “We know we’re bringing the customer the best solution and are postured very well to be a disrupter within the industrial base.” Indeed, with over 50 years of armored vehicle experience, Textron Systems brings a strong history of world-class manufacturing to its customers.

With the addition of Textron Systems into Team Lynx, the group is a strong competitor for the coveted OMFV contract because of Textron’s strong past performance. Said Ledet, “In terms of the U.S. Army specifically, we have a record of completed high-rate production and 100% on-time delivery for armored vehicles. We were supporting them both in Iraq and Afghanistan, and manufactured 48 vehicles a month for six years – sometimes 60 vehicles per month – and in all cases, we delivered.”

As to why Textron Systems wanted to partner with American Rheinmetall for Team Lynx, Ledet was clear, “This is a win-win for us; Rheinmetall products are fantastic, they design and build good stuff and stuff that works well. It was an easy decision for us to join with the team because we knew we’d start with a good base product and be able to expand upon it for a completely American vehicle.” And that’s exactly one myth Team Lynx wants to dispel – that this is simply a German vehicle. “This is an American vehicle, purpose-built for the U.S. Army,” Ledet explained. The vehicle will be manufactured at Textron Systems’ Stone Road facility in Slidell, Louisiana. It’s a sophisticated and robust manufacturing facility, which can quickly scale from small to large production orders. Textron Systems has manufactured over 10,000 vehicles for the U.S. government and customers worldwide, and they have supported domestic customers for over 20 years.

Making up the remainder of Team Lynx are Raytheon, providing sensor and effector capabilities along with software and system engineering support; L3Harris, providing electronic architecture, cyber capabilities, and modular open system approach; and Allison Transmission, developing and building the transmission with drive-by-wire capability.

The newly designed vehicle traces its lineage to the Lynx KF41 – a true next-generation combat vehicle with elite protection, mobility, growth and lethality capabilities. The Lynx OMFV platform designed and delivered by the U.S. team will support the Army’s number two modernization priority of providing next-generation ground combat vehicles. Team Lynx will also benefit the American industrial base. Not only will the vehicle be designed and built in the United States, but the majority of the supply base is U.S. content. “We will be purchasing here locally. We’ll be sourcing materials here to build the vehicle, and the sourcing of materials, the machining, fabrication, cut parts…all will be ordered and manufactured in the United States. Team Lynx will increase the industrial base here and around the country in terms of the work scope,” said Ledet.

Ledet summed up the partnership simply, “It’s the right skill set, the right teaming partners, and it has just worked from day one.”

 

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