Following the news that the US Army had signed a low-rate initial production (LRIP) contract with General Dynamics Land Systems for a new ‘light tank’ platform under the Mobile Protected Firepower (MPF) program;

Tristan Sauer, Land Domain Analyst at GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, offers his view:

“The US Army’s decision to proceed with the MPF program is a testament to the transformative effect the creation of the Army Futures Command (AFC) has had on defense procurement. The Army’s legacy of procuring new armored vehicles has been checkered at best over the last three decades, but under the AFC’s guidance MPF is now succeeding where other programs such as the Future Combat Systems (FCS) and Ground Combat Vehicles (GCV) have failed.

“The capability gap left by the retirement of the M551 Sheridan light tank in 1996 has been a point of contention since the end of the First Gulf War. Now, with the specter of high-intensity conflict with a peer-level adversary looming large over NATO amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the vulnerability of the US Army’s infantry brigade combat teams to hostile armored assets has become ever more pressing.

“In light of this, the AFC’s ability to overcome past procurement challenges and deliver timely modernization has proven beneficial for both the military and wider defense industry. The additional speed and consistency with which such programs have been completed in recent years continue to foster additional confidence and efficiency throughout the procurement process.

“Indeed, the MPF program has advanced from prototyping to an LRIP contract worth $1.14 billion in the span of four years, an impressive feat by armored vehicle procurement standards.

“General Dynamics’ MPF prototype—which integrates a 105mm cannon alongside the Fire Control System from the company’s combat-proven M1A2 Abrams tank with their proprietary Griffin II chassis—enables the Army to fill a key capability gap, as well as maintain strategic overmatch by using advanced yet relatively cost-effective COTS technology. The Army expects to spend an estimated $6 billion to acquire 504 vehicles between 2022-35, a further sign of the mutual confidence borne out of the pragmatic and effective modernization efforts spearheaded by the AFC.

“Following the success of MPF and other recent land domain modernization efforts (such as the Army’s Modular Handgun System, Next Generation Squad Weapon and Personal Defense Weapon programs), there may be reason for cautious optimism regarding the outcome of the long-troubled Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle program. At a projected total procurement cost of $46 billion, it could prove to be the most financially significant military armored vehicle program of the next decade.”