Open system architecture will be ‘hyper important’ in downselect of Army’s XM30: senior official

WASHINGTON — The Army will make open systems architecture a key criterion when selecting the winner for its XM30 Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle, a top official overseeing ground vehicles told Breaking Defense this week.

During an interview at the annual AUSA conference, Brig. Gen. Troy Denomy, portfolio acquisition executive for ground maneuver, said the Army is prioritizing the ability to rapidly adapt its platforms and integrate new technologies as threats evolve — particularly in the counter-unmanned aerial aerial systems fight.

“There’s other aspects that we are absolutely evaluating, but that one is hyper important to me, and we are actually going to evaluate that as part of this selection process,” Denomy added. 

The XM30 is intended to replace the Army’s Bradley Fighting Vehicle, which has served as a central component of the service’s armored formations for decades. The next-generation vehicle is being designed to give soldiers improved protection and capabilities to operate against new battlefield threats.

An open systems architecture allows the Army and its industry partners to plug new and different software and hardware capabilities into the platform as emerging tech becomes available and as the threat picture changes, Denomy explained. Out of the two vendors who are competing for the program — American Rheinmetall and General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) — he said it’s “too early to tell” which company has implemented a more open architecture.

Both vendors have delivered one XM30 prototype each to the Army for testing at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Denomy said. Testing has identified some software capabilities that the vendors need to “tweak,” particularly involving communication between platform subsystems, he said.

“Both vendors are being very responsive to those changes that are necessary,” Denomy said. He added that “it’s nothing atypical for a prototype,” and the open systems architectures for both platforms have allowed the changes to be made quickly.

Though the government is operating under a continuing resolution and Congress has yet to pass the fiscal 2027 budget, Denomy told Breaking Defense that he believes the XM30 program will successfully move forward. He pointed to conversations the service had with congressional staff members at the Army Modernization Days in Aberdeen two weeks ago. 

“We spent the whole day with the professional staff members and felt like what we were talking about was positively received of where we are in the program, and that we will be ready based off of our plan to execute the dollars with the appropriation forthcoming,” Denomy said. 

The Army requested $547 million to procure 19 XM30s in FY27, as Breaking Defense previously reported. However, the House Appropriations defense subcommittee drafted a version of the FY27 spending bill that reduced the procurement line to just $33.1 million. 

Separately, Denomy said that the Army is conducting experimental testing with BAE Systems’ Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle (AMPV) equipped with a 30mm Kongsberg turret — a platform known as the AMPV-30. The vehicle is currently “being exercised in an infantry fighting vehicle role” as part of a Transformation in Contact rotation, he said.

He said there are “significant differences between” what the AMPV-30 and XM30 can do and cautioned against conflating the two vehicles.

The AMPV-30 gives the Army an opportunity to explore an infantry fighting vehicle role for the platform, originally designed as a replacement for the M113 family of armored personnel carriers and support vehicles. Unlike the XM30, which is an Army-funded program, the AMPV-30 is self-funded by BAE Systems.

Denomy praised BAE for investing its own funding to give the Army additional options, saying the effort could allow the AMPV to conduct more types of missions.

“For me what this showcases from an AMPV perspective [are] potential opportunities in the future for other mission roles for it. They do the standard things that are part of the program of record — whether it’s the general purpose, the medical variant [or] the mission command variant. Well, now they’ve demonstrated [a version] with a turret that could fill a role,” he added. 

Further, he emphasized that the “commitment behind XM30 is real and it’s important, and we have two very viable offerings.”