ARLINGTON, Va., July 27 (UPI) -- BAE Systems and Northrop Grumman have added two partners in their bid to win a U.S. Army award to develop and build a new ground combat vehicle.
QinetiQ North America will provide the electric drive propulsion system or E-X-Drive for ground combat vehicles while Saft will provide the vehicles' energy storage system.
Saft, a leading producer of high-tech batteries, has headquarters in France.
"We have built a team that has extensive experience and innovation in the development and production of combat systems and subsystems," said Mark Signorelli, vice president and general manager of ground combat vehicles at BAE Systems. "With this team we bring more to our customer by providing a vehicle that will meet the Army's requirements for a highly survivable platform that can adapt to a constantly evolving and changing operational environment; from humanitarian relief to a full scale battlefield."
The BAE Systems-Northrop Grumman GCV offering will be the first combat vehicle designed from the ground up to operate in an improvised-explosive-device-threat environment, the companies said in a news release.
The GCV mine survivability will exceed that of a Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle, while the enhanced mobility capabilities will allow the GCV to operate in urban and cross-country environments, they said.
