Army taps Textron’s Ripsaw M3 for Robotic Combat Vehicle program, sources say

An image of Textron’s Ripsaw M3 tech demonstrator. (Textron)

WASHINGTON — Textron Systems’s Ripsaw 3 has won the US Army’s latest Robotic Combat Vehicle competition, according to a trio of sources familiar with the program.

The service isn’t expected to formally announce that decision until later this month, but vendors have been notified. However, sources inside industry and the Army told Breaking Defense that Textron is the victor.

When asked about the decision, an Army spokesperson declined to comment on whether a selection had been made said it is still an “ongoing competition until awards are finalized.” Textron did not immediately respond to questions about the contract decision, but the company has previously touted its offering.

“The Ripsaw M3 leverages a modular open systems architecture (MOSA) design and common chassis to support a variety of interchangeable payloads from a basic flat-top deck configuration,” the company wrote in a press release last year. “A rugged and reliable RCV platform, the vehicle is designed to meet Army requirements while preserving transportability and mission versatility.”

Under an earlier RCV iteration with three vehicle sizes — light, medium and heavy — Textron’s Ripsaw M5 secured the medium prototyping contract. However, the service changed course and relaunched a new competition for just one RCV size.

It then selected Textron, along with McQ, General Dynamics Land Systems and Oshkosh Defense, to proceed and awarded them with a combined total of $24.7 million for the first phase of the project. Each team was then tasked with delivering two RCV prototypes by August 2024 for mobility testing and soldier touchpoints.

Maj. Gen. Glenn Dean, the service’s Program Executive Officer for Ground Combat Systems, told Breaking Defense last year that the service would then use those findings to help select a single company to proceed with Phase II this year, which would mean the winner would be finalizing designs and delivering up to nine prototypes by fiscal 2026.

Service leaders would then be set up to decide how to proceed with the program in FY27, according to budget justification documents and previous Army statements. If it’s greenlit to proceed, soldiers could be using the unmanned vehicles the following year. 

It’s not clear if this timeline still holds today given budgeting plans and a new administration. New Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s call to reallocate billions in defense spending does have a carveout for “autonomous systems,” but doesn’t specifically mention ground vehicles.

Also, the vehicle itself is only half the challenge when it comes to the RCV program. Leaders are grappling with just how much autonomy early vehicles will have, the number of soldiers required to remotely control them and what payloads they will carry first.

The service is poised to continue working through some of those question marks over the coming years including at Fort Irwin, Calif., this month when RCVs and other autonomous weapons take centerstage at the Project Convergence Capstone 5 event. 

Alex Miller, the Army Chief’s Chief Technology Officer, also told reporters last month that these new autonomous prototypes will play a significant role in the service’s plans for “transformation in contact” 2.0 this year.