Key Takeaways from Defense Strategic Institute’s Military Vehicles Systems Summit
The National Advanced Mobility Consortium (NAMC) recently attended the Defense Strategic Institute’s Military Vehicles Systems Summit on 29-30 November in National Harbor, MD. This year the Military Vehicles Systems Summit brought people together from across U.S. Military services, to explore efforts to maximize the durability, sustainability, survivability, and lethality of U.S. Military combat and tactical vehicles. Here are our key takeaways from DSI’s 3rd Military Vehicle Systems Summit.
Army Futures Command continues to emphasize a formation-based vs. a platform-based approach to modernization and is making a concerted effort to better communicate how technologies and Industry can integrate into this vision. All requirements and concepts are being driven by this formation-based approach to include the development of Human-Machine Integrated Formations (H-MIF). NAMC is currently collaborating with U.S. Army partners in support of the H-MIF effort.
The U.S. Army will be challenged in the near future with a flat budget ‘top line’ in the DoD coupled with increasing costs, mainly in personnel, inevitably impacting other priorities. There is a strong potential that there will be a full-year Continuing Resolution (CR) for the 2024 DoD budget. While budget challenges persist, the U.S. Army continues to invest in both modernization and integration of new technologies as well as sustainment of the U.S. Army’s vehicle fleet. We fully anticipate that these investments will provide particular opportunities to NAMC and NAMC Member organizations.
The USMC and USASOC are also continuing investments in vehicle modernization activities to increase Survivability & Mobility, lower sustainment burdens and integrate new technologies to support the Warfighter and meet mission demands in the ever-changing operational environment. NAMC is continuing to explore opportunities to support both the USMC and SOCOM to facilitate the delivery of ground vehicles, robotics and supporting technologies to Warfighters.
Other topics of emphasis included MOSA, vehicle electrification, off-road autonomy and digital transformation. NAMC and our Member organizations remain highly involved in these topics and we are looking forward to facilitating the Government-Industry MOSA/GCIA collaboration event on 17 January in Sterling Heights through the MOSA Community of Interest.