Next Generation Combat Vehicle Technology

Will assess improved armor designs for enhanced mounted survivability against multiple threat classes to include medium cal kinetic threats and Shaped Charged Jet (SCJ) threats; assess emerging threats and devise novel techniques to defeat them; develop armor designs using novel materials designed to protect from multi-hit on platforms…

Will continue to mature novel adaptive protection mechanisms for mounted survivability and technologies to enhance protection from emerging rocket-propelled grenades, Anti-tank Guided Missiles, and Shape Charged Jet threats, while reducing size and weight requirements; mature advanced top attack adaptive protection technologies; design…

Validate collaborative protection technologies against real threats in field experiments; document proof-of-concept for cooperative protection and collaborative lethality and evaluate preliminary performance based on a limited set of simulation runs; assess residual technology risk and document recommendations for transition partners.

Will investigate and begin to develop and incorporate direct fire ballistic analysis capability for medium caliber munitions against moving Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) targets; begin to incorporate analysis of AI-enabled systems against future weapons systems; mature methodology for assessing capabilities of advanced adaptive…

Continue investigation of collaborative countermeasure concepts through advanced modeling and simulation tools and system-level trade studies. Will down-select and mature the most-promising technology concept through computational analysis and physical experiments. Will develop system-level model for selected approach and develop…

Will mature advanced directed energy (DE) technologies to defeat non-line of sight guided munitions; assess and exercise directed energy Modeling and Simulations (M&S) tools to mature novel Terminal Effects Directed Energy technologies that can be employed in Army environments to defeat emerging non-conventional threats and counter…

Will build upon FY2026 effort to continue investigation of multiple novel survivability and protection technologies for protection against emerging threats; work with industry partners to conceptualize integration of novel technologies on ground vehicle platforms to assess feasibility; develop test methodology to evaluate performance of…

Investigate current and emerging technologies, data networks, and interfaces to identify opportunities to establish relationships between survivability and non-survivability (e.g. mobility, lethality, C5ISR) sub-systems to improve platform and formation survivability. Establish the foundational architecture and critical behaviors for a…

Will investigate automated armor design methodology, machine learning tools, and computational methods for optimizing protection against a specific threat of interest against various armor technologies; expand Armor database and machine learning knowledge products; devise and refine theory for scaling behavior in thick metal plates…

Will develop dual-band, high dynamic range digital readout integrate circuits (DROICs) with enhanced sensitivity at smaller semiconductor foundry processing nodes that contain standardized control and output formats for all-digital sensor system solutions; continue to develop full resolution cooled DROICs for integration with avalanche…

Will conduct experiments using multiple sensor modalities to support the development and training of algorithms to improve automated threat detection. Will investigate and develop new processing approaches and methods using location and position data from multi-spectral and high definition polarized EO/IR sensor components to improve…

Will investigate automated pattern recognition, and spatial association techniques to detect obstacles utilizing existing imagery of realistic, complex environments. Will collect geospatial imagery to determine effectiveness of detection techniques. Will investigate methods to insert techniques into a multi-domain common operating…

Will determine optimal optical modulator technologies with high-bandwidth data transmission and high stability at cryogenic temperatures for integration with digital read-out integrated circuit (ROIC); validate laser sources coupled with photonic integrated circuits; continue performance assessments and maturation of embedded processing…

FY2025 accomplishments Will mature armament system component technologies that increase lethality for future large caliber direct fire systems. Will conduct experiments on armament system component technologies to inform future integration tasks. Will investigate technologies to reduce large caliber target defeat timeline via enhanced direct fire automation.

FY2027 planned work Will continue to assess next-generation projectile concepts for improved lethality that minimize size and weight burdens on the launch platform as well as cartridge cost; continue to investigate next-generation lethal mechanisms for resilient lethality across the target spectrum; integrate identified counter-countermeasure technologies against smart protection systems into lab-scale cartridge for performance assessment.

FY2026 to FY2027 change Funding decrease reflects reduction in research associated with advanced manufacturing methods.

FY2026 plans — current year Will assess next-generation penetrator concepts for more robust lethality; investigate next-generation lethal mechanisms for more energy-efficient lethality; scale-up next generation high-energy propellant charge fabrication using advanced manufacturing methods; mature advanced ignition concepts for controllable and repeatable combustion of very high-energy charges; continue to assess weapon technologies for improved large caliber projectile accuracy; determine technologies to mitigate against smart protection systems.

FY2025 accomplishments Will evaluate concepts for robust large caliber penetrators for increased lethality; mature compact, high-energy propellant charges for direct fire which provide increased energy as well as advanced ignition safety or timelines; explore the interaction between ignition and propellant to ensure controllable, repeatable combustion; evaluate technologies to improve accuracy necessary for future large-caliber weapon systems; evaluate system viability of counter-countermeasure technologies against projected threat systems for defeat of advanced protection technologies.

FY2027 planned work Will investigate existing platform equipment to determine munition system performance measures. Will design munition architecture(s) to meet these system requirements and develop sub-system technologies.

FY2026 to FY2027 change Funding increase reflects the creation of this effort.

FY2025 accomplishments Will explore methods to incorporate human-guided input and learning methods into real-time task interpretation and adaptation in autonomous behaviors; develop methods and applications to increase small unmanned systems ability to efficiently traverse complex and varying different terrains.

FY2025 accomplishments Will validate enhanced object estimation algorithms and automated autonomous maneuver reasoning tools; investigate algorithms and machine learning approaches to enable autonomous systems to collaborate through context-informed dialogue; investigate limited set of computational linguistics-based semantic approaches to augment deep learning language models.

FY2025 accomplishments Will investigate scalable computing methods for complex inference tasks and methods for model partitioning; explore novel strategies for adaptive and efficient execution of analytic models in extremely resource constrained, heterogenous environments; investigate methods to optimize analytic performance and accuracy.

FY2025 accomplishments Will assess ground vehicle autonomy performance using modular navigation, perception, and state estimation; mature autonomous navigation components to sustain performance while adapting to environmental features optimize and assess route planning capability for autonomous systems in partially obscured complex environments; validate simulation-based coordination techniques for multiple autonomous systems using research platforms; investigate automated extraction of full scene information based on autonomous system sensor data; experiment with automated optimization methods for perception algorithms under constraints including network bandwidth, computer memory, and compute capacity; develop…

FY2025 accomplishments Will continue to investigate novel models, artificial intelligence algorithms, and architectures that enable autonomous systems to operate at operationally relevant speeds and agility; conduct research focused on increasing complexity for autonomous navigation and planning related to natural environmental conditions such as dust, snow, and rain; develop performance prediction models for autonomous systems.

FY2027 planned work Will continue to optimize results from ongoing studies to support Combatant Commander identified needs.

FY2026 to FY2027 change Funding increase reflects an economic adjustment.

FY2026 plans — current year Will continue to optimize results from ongoing studies to support Combatant Commander identified needs.

FY2025 accomplishments Will continue to optimize results from ongoing studies to support Combatant Commander identified needs.

FY2026 to FY2027 change In Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 this Project is restructured to PE 0602145A (Next Generation Combat Vehicle Technology) / Project BF9 (Sensors for Autonomous Operations and Survivability).

FY2026 plans — current year Will develop hybridized high-sensitivity laser detectors with deep-well readout-integrated circuits for increased range performance, range resolution, and active/passive operation in long wavelength infrared. Will investigate planar and mesa structures for advanced, high-sensitivity laser detectors to further reduce pixel pitch (size) to align with other Army devices. Will further mature component-level modeling for laser detector using hybridized device parameters to determine detectability levels and guide further development efforts.

FY2025 accomplishments Design high-sensitivity laser detectors with optimized pixel pitch (size) and dark current (sensitivity) and optimize advanced laser sources to increase array resolution and detection ranges. Model laser detector components to predict performance based on design specifications of high-sensitivity laser detectors. Begin validation of laser detector model using laboratory test results of components and update models based on validation testing to guide development and predict future system performance.

FY2026 to FY2027 change In Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 this Project is restructured to PE 0602145A (Next Generation Combat Vehicle Technology) / Project BF9 (Sensors for Autonomous Operations and Survivability)

FY2026 plans — current year Will develop an automatic selectable filter (ASF) for Color Day TV systems and pair with a selection of visible, spectrally agile filters; conduct experiments with the ASF and spectrally agile filter technology in a laboratory environment; investigate performance of these protection technologies against various laser threats.

FY2025 accomplishments Conduct experiments on spectrally agile filters in the visible and infrared waveband to determine which filter device(s) are applicable to military applications; validate commercial spectrally agile filter performance; investigate the interactions and effects of out-of-band stressing laser threats on infrared optical materials; begin development of a filter, coating, or new material to provide out-of-band protection for high performance cooled infrared systems.