https://crsreports.congress.gov
Updated December 23, 2022
The Army’s Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle (OMFV)
Background
The Army’s Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle (OMFV)
is being designed to replace the M-2 Bradley Infantry
Fighting Vehicle (IFV) (see Figure 1 for a notional
example). Optionally manned means the OMFV is to have
the ability to conduct remotely controlled operations while
a crew is not in the vehicle. The M-2 Bradley, which has
been in service since 1981, transports infantry on the
battlefield, provides fire support to dismounted troops, and
can destroy enemy fighting vehicles. Updated numerous
times since its introduction, the M-2 Bradley is widely
considered to have reached the technological limits of its
capacity to accommodate new electronics, armor, and
defensive systems. Two past efforts to replace the M-2
Bradley—the Future Combat System (FCS) Program and
the Ground Combat Vehicle (GCV) Program—were
cancelled for programmatic and cost-associated reasons.
Figure 1. Notional Example—OMFV
Source: U.S. Naval Institute (USNI), https://news.usni.org/2021/12/
30/report-to-congress-on-armys-optionally manned-fighting-vehicle,
accessed April 18, 2022.
Note: This is a notional example; the Army’s OMFV selected for
production may differ from this example.
Role of the OMFV
According to OMFV Program Information released by the
Army on February 28, 2022:
The Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle (OMFV)
will serve as the Army’s Infantry Fighting Vehicle
(IFV) tasked to maneuver through the enemy’s
security zone as part of a combined arms team for
the purpose of creating an advantageous position,
relative to the enemy, and providing protection and
direct fire lethality while manned or remotely
operated. In the close fight, the OMFV enables the
ability of dismounted elements to maneuver by
detecting and destroying targets at a range beyond
the enemy’s capability.
OMFV Capabilities
The Army notes four planned OMFV capabilities:
Enable command and control at the platoon level and
higher by rapidly generating, receiving, and passing
information to dismounted elements, other vehicles, and
command nodes.
Detect, engage, and destroy enemy infantry fighting
vehicles beyond the range of the enemy’s primary
weapon system, and rapidly defeat dismounted enemy
infantry threats. The OMFV would also enhance unit-
level lethality by providing target acquisition data,
shared situational understanding, and the lethal effects
required to protect and orient friendly dismounted
infantry.
Improve organizational effectiveness by reducing the
logistics burden on the Armored Brigade Combat Team
(ABCT) through enhanced reliability and on-board
diagnostics and prognostics; ease of maintenance; and
reduced burdens on the supply chain in terms of spare
parts, fuel, and munitions.
Allow rapid adaptation by the means of growth margins
that allow for the insertion and integration of future
technologies.
OMFV Acquisition Approach
OMFV is to be Army’s first ground combat vehicle
designed using state-of-the-art digital engineering tools and
techniques. It is to be designed from the onset as a Modular
Open Systems Architected (MOSA) platform based on an
Army-defined and -owned open standard. As technology
and software evolve, MOSA could potentially facilitate
rapid OMFV modernization at a reduced cost. The open
architecture of the OMFV could also offer more
opportunities for industry competition and innovations as
the OMFV is upgraded.
The Army is conducting a five-phase acquisition approach
to design, prototype, test, and produce the OMFV:
Phase 1 consists of Market Research and
Requirement Development.
Phase 2, the Concept Design Phase, includes modeling,
simulation, and analysis (MS&A) to inform
requirements and support initial design activities.
Phase 3, the Detailed Design Phase, includes detailed
design activities to mature OMFV designs and
concludes with a Critical Design Review (CDR). A
CDR is a technical review to ensure the initial product
baseline is established. Successful completion of CDR
provides the technical basis for proceeding into
fabrication, integration, development, test, and
evaluation of a system.
