American Rheinmetall drew a strong crowd to its booth on Day 1 of the Association of the U.S. Army’s Annual Meeting, held in Washington, DC, where Army and industry leaders gathered for a panel featuring senior representatives of the six companies behind Team Lynx, including Textron Systems, Raytheon, L3Harris Technologies, Allison Transmission and Anduril Industries.
Robert Hastings, a former Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs and Principal of Robert Hastings & Associates, LLC, moderated the session, which centered on what Soldiers need from the next combat vehicle, how the six Team Lynx partners work together as one team, and what it takes to build, deliver and sustain the Lynx XM30 for the U.S. Army.
Panelist Jim Schirmer, Senior Vice President of Programs at American Rheinmetall, opened with an update on where the program stands today.
“We’ve completed the design and we’ve begun delivering prototypes to the government,” Schirmer said. “It’s really nice to have hardware we can touch and feel after a long time looking at CAD models, spreadsheets and data graphs.”
With vehicles now in Army hands, much of the conversation turned to the Lynx XM30’s ability to grow with the Army’s needs. Schirmer used the Bradley to illustrate the importance of leaving room for future growth, describing the Bradley as a capable platform that has reached the limits of the electrical power, space and weight available for continued upgrades. The Lynx XM30, he added, was architected from the beginning to grow over time and integrate future technologies the Army may not even be considering today.
Several panel members then highlighted examples of the Lynx XM30’s built-in capacity for future growth. Dana Pittard, Vice President of Defense Programs at Allison Transmission and a retired Army major general, discussed Allison’s electric-hybrid propulsion system for the vehicle. He explained how the system provides the additional power and scalable propulsion capacity needed as the Lynx XM30 grows heavier and adds new onboard systems over time. Meanwhile, Brian Burton, Vice President of Precision Fires and Maneuver at Raytheon, pointed to Raytheon’s Multi-Mission Launcher on the Lynx XM30, which can employ effectors already in the Army inventory while leaving room to integrate new weapons as they emerge.
“It’s designed from the beginning to be able to scale for future effectors as requirements and demands continue to evolve and as new weapons come online,” Burton said.
Mike Roder, General Manager of Ground Maneuver at Anduril and a former Army Kiowa Warrior pilot, broadened the point. “If you start from the base platform thinking, ‘I know I’m going to have upgrades in the future,’ and you architect the vehicle that way, you can actually add hardware and software really quickly,” he said.
Attention then shifted to the strengths of the team behind the Lynx XM30. Larry Burris, who leads Army ground and air communications programs at L3Harris and previously served as an Army brigadier general, explained why Team Lynx was assembled the way it was.
“I think it’s very difficult for a vertically integrated company to try to make this by themselves with the technologies that are required,” Burris said. “It takes a team, it takes a consortium of experts in their particular industry spaces, whether it’s combat vehicles or its weapon systems or transmissions or advanced intelligence or sensors… if we want the very best, we need them being the very best talents together.”
One example touched on regarding the close collaboration came from Textron Systems’ manufacturing facility in Slidell, Louisiana, where engineers from across Team Lynx worked through integration issues in real time as the prototypes moved through final assembly. There, they built the relationships and manufacturing experience the team could carry forward into production.
“The collaboration between all of Team Lynx has been amazing,” Pittard said. “It’s the collaboration that is so important, and that’s the strength of Team Lynx.”
The panel also returned repeatedly to the Soldiers who will ultimately operate the Lynx XM30. Mike Clemens, Director of Program Development at Textron Systems and a retired Army armor sergeant major, explained how Soldier touchpoints contributed to everything from the turret layout to how information is presented to the crew.
“Soldiers have been part of the development and the design of this vehicle from the very beginning, from using operational leaders to develop the characteristics and the requirements to Soldier touchpoints and tests up till now,” he said.
Building on Clemens’ point, Burris pointed to the combat leaders on stage as one example of the veteran perspective found across Team Lynx and the advantage it brings to the program.
“And if you look up here, we have experienced combat leaders,” he said. “We spent time on vehicles and have provided the baseline perspective and requirements that this vehicle needs to be successful, so then it can be passed off to the Soldiers to do the touchpoints and provide the feedback that today’s generation needs.”
The final question shifted the focus to the future battlefield. With drones and robotic systems becoming more prominent, Hastings asked what the future holds for the infantry fighting vehicle.
“I believe firmly and passionately that warfare is a human endeavor,” Schirmer said. “The infantry has a permanent place on the battlefield.”
The other panelists agreed. Drones and robotic systems are already changing warfare, but they do not eliminate the need for infantry or the combat vehicles that enable Soldiers to maneuver under protection on the battlefield. The Lynx XM30 was built to meet that need today while retaining the capacity to change as warfare changes.
As the panel came to a close, Hastings brought the conversation back to the central case for Team Lynx. “There you have it. In our view, the right product built by the right team. And we’re delivering it right now.”
Hastings was referring to the prototypes being delivered to the Army for testing and evaluation, where feedback from the Soldiers operating them will help inform the Army’s decision on whether the Lynx XM30 is selected to move into production. But the fact remains that the Lynx XM30 was developed from the beginning with a Soldier-centered design, informed by Soldiers and combat veterans to create a vehicle purpose-built for the Warfighter, and Team Lynx remains confident it is the right vehicle to carry them into the fight ahead.