U.S. Army TARDEC Awards DATC Consortium Member Group Led by SAIC Contract to Develop Next Generation Army Combat Vehicle Experimental Prototype
WARRENDALE, Pa. (PRWEB) September 27, 2017 -- The U.S. Army TARDEC announces it has awarded a Defense Automotive Technologies Consortium (DATC)-group led by Science Applications International Corp. a contract to assist in the development of a next generation combat vehicle - experimental prototype (NGCV-EP).
The Next Generation Combat Vehicle Prototype (NGCV) contract is an eight-year term, valued at $237 million.
DATC was formed in September of 2016 when the U.S. Army TARDEC selected SAE ITC, an affiliate of SAE International, to create an “other transaction agreement (OTA)” to quickly and efficiently integrate innovative automotive technologies into military ground vehicles, ultimately resulting in speed of adoption of commercial technologies and improved defense capabilities.
According to TARDEC, it was important they were able to leverage the flexibility of the OTA under DATC. In addition, the mix of traditional and non-traditional defense contractors comprising the vendor collaboration team will allow TARDEC to leverage the best in defense and automotive expertise and innovation to increase the knowledge of available technologies, reduce risk to performance and cost, and set conditions for an accelerated development of highly lethal and survivable vehicle that will ensure battlefield overmatch against potential adversaries.
SAIC (Science Applications International Corporation) and teammates shall serve as collaborative partners with U.S. Army TARDEC in the research, design, development, refinement, build, integration and demonstration of two identical combat vehicle demonstrator NGCV-EP platforms. "SAIC is extremely proud to support TARDEC and the Army in this innovative approach to combat vehicle modernization. These design and prototyping efforts will assist in refining vehicle requirements, maturing technologies and will contribute to the successful modernization of Army Combat Vehicles going forward," said Jim Scanlon, SAIC senior vice president and general manager of the Defense Systems Group.
Teammates with SAIC on the project include:
• GS Engineering, Inc.
• Hodges Transportation, Inc. dba Nevada Automotive Test Center (NATC)
• Lockheed Martin Corp.
• Moog, Inc.
• Roush Industries, Inc.
“We are honored and pleased to support the U.S. Army in their efforts to develop a new fighting vehicle through the NGCV project,” David Porreca, executive director of DATC, said. “We congratulate SAIC and their team members on their achievement and look forward to their innovative approach to prototyping.”
"The OTA has shown to be a great tool for efficiently and effectively bringing the best industry innovations and ideas to meet the Army's R&D needs," says Chris Ostrowski, TARDEC's project manager for NGCV. "We're always working to bring the latest technologies to the warfighter, and the NGCV project is designed to do exactly that."
In April of 2017, DATC launched the Next Generation Combat Vehicle Prototype (NGCV) program focused on the design and integration of component technologies into a prototype combat vehicle platform. The program was open to teams comprising innovative engineering organizations from industry, academia and defense communities. Lead members from each team collaborated and coordinated with the team's subject matter experts and the TARDEC NGCV leadership regarding the project.
DATC is an affiliate of SAE ITC (Industry Technologies Consortia). The SAE ITC team specializes in establishing and managing consortia by providing proven processes, tools and resources. SAE ITC is an affiliate of SAE International. SAE International is a global association committed to being the ultimate knowledge source for the engineering profession. By uniting over 127,000 engineers and technical experts, we drive knowledge and expertise across a broad spectrum of industries.
Shawn Andreassi, SAE International, http://www.sae.org, +1 (724) 772-8522, [email protected]
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