Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) announced today it will lead a team to pursue the US Army's Ground Combat Vehicle (GCV) program. The SAIC-led team submitted its proposal for the technology development phase of the Infantry Fighting Vehicle (IFV) being developed under the GCV effort to the US government and is competing for one of an anticipated three contract awards.

"GCV is of vital importance to our nation as it is the first combat vehicle that is designed to be adaptable to the full range of military operations and protect our soldiers from current and emerging threats," said Deborah Alderson, SAIC Defense Solutions Group president. "Our approach is to leverage the investments made in the Manned Ground Vehicle program and the Puma Infantry Fighting Vehicle to produce an American IFV designed for the challenges our warfighters are facing today as well as those of future conflicts."

SAIC is teamed with three large enterprises, Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW), Rheinmetall Defence (RMD) and the Boeing Company. As proposed, the vehicles would be developed in concert with the Army's Materiel Enterprise, and built in the US with almost half of the work planned for small and mid-tier American companies. The SAIC team, called Team Full Spectrum, is proposing a vehicle it believes should be well-positioned to meet the Army's accelerated development needs because of its MGV and Puma heritage. The Puma is the only production-ready IFV designed from the ground up since Sept. 11, 2001, and incorporates the lessons of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"The best part of this approach is that we can use technology already developed to quickly get this system into the hands of those who need it the most - American soldiers," Alderson said.

The US Army's Ground Combat Vehicle program is part of a holistic Army plan to modernize its combat vehicle fleet.

Source: SAIC