Army Modernization in Next-Generation Vehicles Will
Change the Battlefield
by MAJ Cory W. Wallace, MAJ George M. Morris, MAJ Scott Stephens and MAJ Shawn D. Pardee
The Army must maintain combat-vehicle overmatch in close combat against current threats while taking necessary
actions to ensure overmatch through 2050 and beyond. Therefore the Next-Generation Combat Vehicle (NGCV)
cross-functional team (CFT) is the Army’s No. 2 modernization priority. Established in 2017 by then-Secretary of
the Army Mark Esper and Chief of Staff of the Army GEN Mark Milley, the NGCV CFT drives combat-vehicle
modernization priorities to rapidly provide Soldiers with the most advanced combat platforms.
Our peer threats have studied our equipment and tactics. They have developed increasingly capable systems and
armaments that include, but are not limited to, advanced kinetic-energy ammunition, improved anti-tank guided
missiles, explosively formed penetrators, underbelly-mines rocket-propelled grenades, loitering munitions,
unmanned aerial systems and cyber-electromagnetic activities.
To meet these threats, the NGCV CFT prioritizes the Army Science and Technology efforts for ground-combat
vehicles and works with its acquisition partner to field the Armored Multipurpose Vehicle (AMPV), mobile
protected firepower (MPF), Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle (OMFV) and Robotic Combat Vehicles (RCV). The
CFT is also assessing the need for a main-battle-tank replacement and is working on cutting-edge technologies in
automation, artificial intelligence and machine learning. Overall, the CFT synchronizes, coordinates and resources
government science and technology projects, analytics, academic and industry developments; Soldier assessments
and experiments with prototypes; and acquisition efforts to speed the development of the next generation of
combat vehicles for our Soldiers.
As BG Ross Coffman, director of the NGCV CFT, consistently reminds our modernization partners within the
Defense Department and industry that “we cannot modernize to parity. We must modernize to overmatch our
enemy.”
NGCV portfolio
AMPV: Is a one-for-one replacement for the M113 at the unit level of armored brigade combat team (ABCT) and
below. AMPV will be able to match the pace of an ABCT, have improved survivability and force protection over the
M113, and be able to incorporate future technologies and the Army’s future network. These capabilities will allow
units to operate more securely and efficiently with the tanks, infantry fighting vehicles and self-propelled artillery
pieces of the ABCT.
When fielded, AMPV variants will replace more than 30 percent of the ABCT’s aging tracked-vehicle fleet. The
mission-command vehicle facilitates enhanced command-and-control for commanders and staff. The mortar
carrier provides immediate, responsive fire support to the BCT to conduct fast-paced offensive operations. The
medical-evacuation vehicle provides the maneuver units and the brigade-support battalion the ability to transport
casualties with en-route care for four litter or six ambulatory casualties. The medical-treatment vehicle provides a
workspace for the surgeon or physician’s assistant to care for Soldiers. The general-purpose vehicle supports
logistics and non-standard medical evacuation at the company level.
The first units within an ABCT will receive AMPVs beginning in Fiscal Year (FY) 2022.
