The Army’s XM-30 Mechanized Infantry Combat Vehicle (Formerly Known as the Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle [OMFV])

The Army’s Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle (OMFV) is being designed to replace the M-2 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle (IFV). Optionally manned means the OMFV is to have the capability to conduct remotely controlled operations while a crew is not in the vehicle. The M-2 Bradley, which has been in service since 1981, transports infantry on the battlefield, provides fire support to dismounted troops, and can destroy enemy fighting vehicles.

Updated numerous times since its introduction, the M-2 Bradley is widely considered to have reached the technological limits of its capacity to accommodate new electronics, armor, and defensive systems. Two past efforts to replace the M-2 Bradley—the Future Combat System (FCS) Program and the Ground Combat Vehicle (GCV) Program—were cancelled for programmatic and cost-associated reasons.