Report says Army delaying Ground Combat Vehicle work, will award only one contract..........
A generic representation of a combat vehicle. The final Army Ground Combat Vehicle may bear little to no resemblance to this representation. (U.S. Army graphic) Work on the Army's next-generation Ground Combat Vehicle will be delayed for at least six months, according to a report today by Defense News.
According to a memo obtained by Defense News, the Army will extend its technology and development phase by six months and then award an engineering and manufacturing development contract to a single vendor, not two separate ones as previously planned. The contact will be awarded in late 2014.
The memo states the changes are due to the anticipation of future budget cutbacks.
In 2011, the Army awarded BAE systems a $449 million contract and General Dynamics Land Systems $439 million to work on the technology development phase of the project. BAE teamed with Northrop Grumman Corp. in its work, with the development phase performed at BAE Systems and Northrop Grumman facilities in Huntsville; Sterling Heights and Troy, Michigan; Santa Clara and Carson, California; York, Pennsylvania; and Minneapolis.