After slight delay, Army approves XM30 Milestone B

An M2A3 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle prepares to fire on a range at Camp Shelby Joint Force Training Center, Miss., Feb 26, 2021. (US Army National Guard/Sgt. Jovi Prevot)

WASHINGTON — American Rheinmetall and General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) have received the greenlight to continue designing a replacement for the M2 Bradley Fighting Vehicle after the US Army approved Milestone B, the Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) phase, according to three sources.

The decision to approve the next phase of XM30 was made Wednesday and followed critical design reviews of both companies’ respective plans, two industry sources and an Army source confirmed.

Both GDLS and Rheinmetall currently hold prototyping contracts with the service, and their respective XM30 plans had been expected to move through a critical design review late last year. However, the Army opted to postpone those reviews until late spring and then make a Milestone B decision.

“The [new] Milestone B date will allow the two competing contractors to complete a more comprehensive Critical Design Reviews prior to the milestone decision,” a service spokesperson told Breaking Defense in April.

“The program continues to meet key events to deliver on schedule,” the spokesperson added.

This is the Army’s fourth attempt to design a Bradley follow-on. After false starts under the Future Combat Systems and Ground Combat Vehicle initiatives, the Army launched an initial Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle (OMFV) competition before scrapping it in January 2020 because it did not have a suitable candidate that could meet requirements and timetable.

Service leaders then quickly moved out with its fourth attempt, launching a new OMFV competition later that year with a more flexible set of parameters based around design characteristics and a slower schedule. That effort has now been dubbed XM30 with GDLS and Rheinmetall competing.

If the Army’s previously disclosed Milestone B plan holds, each team will now produce seven identical prototypes for testing before the Army crowns a single victor in 2027 and soldiers begin receiving the combat vehicles around the 2029 window.