Additional Support for OMFV
Rheinmetall is to invest a “multi-million dollar” sum in its US electronics capabilities as the company ramps up work on the US Army’s Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle (OMFV) programme.
The investment, in the American Rheinmetall Systems facility at Biddeford, ME, supports the company’s work in providing mission system technologies on US Army combat vehicle modernisation programmes. Key among those is OMFV, the project that will eventually deliver a successor to the Bradley IFV.
American Rheinmetall Systems intends to develop and market what it terms “next-generation situational awareness and fire-control systems” that will derive, in part, from the work it has done on existing turret systems. The company argues that this approach, coupled with the new investment, will enable it to deliver advanced and competitive mission systems, which will meet current and emerging US Army requirements.
The investment will also allow the company to hire new systems and software engineers, and to bring turret technology from Germany and the UK to the US. The firm plans to set up integration capabilities at Biddeford. Further work will be done on developing 360° situational awareness technologies, AI-based target detection and recognition, and image-processing capabilities. All will be designed to be interoperable, with open architectures enabling rapid integration.
“This investment in American Rheinmetall Systems’ growing US electronics business is a clear indication of Rheinmetall’s overall commitment to being an exceptional partner in meeting the US Army’s modernization priorities,” explained Brad Hittle, President and CEO of American Rheinmetall Systems. “We will be adding 10 to 15 high-level engineering jobs in Maine, as well as industrializing locally to offer world-class solutions for the Army’s next-generation vehicle technology requirements.“