https://crsreports.congress.gov
Updated April 2, 2025
The Army’s XM-30 Mechanized Infantry Combat Vehicle
(Formerly Known as the 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 capability 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.
OMFV Redesignated XM-30 Mechanized
Infantry Combat Vehicle
On June 26, 2023, upon the completion of the initial digital
design phase, the Army redesignated the OMFV as the XM-
30 Mechanized Infantry Combat Vehicle.
Role of the XM-30
According to the 2024 Department of Defense (DOD) FY
2025 Program Acquisition Costs by Weapons Systems,
The XM-30 Combat Vehicle (previously OMFV),
as part of an Armored Brigade Combat Team
(ABCT), will replace the Bradley Infantry Fighting
Vehicle to provide the capabilities required to
defeat a future near-peer competitor’s force. The
XM-30 is an optionally manned platform that
maneuvers soldiers to a point of positional
advantage to engage in close combat and deliver
decisive lethality during the execution of combined
arms maneuver. It is designed to operate with and
may operate without a crew and soldiers under
armor based on the commander’s decision. It
delivers decisive lethality during the execution of
combined arms maneuver while also controlling
maneuver robotics and semi-autonomous systems
XM-30 Acquisition Approach
The XM-30 is currently a Middle Tier Acquisition Rapid
Prototyping (MTA-RP) program. The XM-30 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 XM-30
modernization at a reduced cost. The open architecture of
the XM-30 could also offer more opportunities for industry
competition and innovations as the XM-30 is upgraded.
The Army is conducting a five-phase acquisition approach
to design, prototype, test, and produce the XM-30:
• 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 XM-30 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.
• Phase 4, the Prototype Build and Test Phase, verifies
prototype performance against performance
specifications. Late in this phase, a Limited User Test
(LUT) is to be conducted.
