The US Army needs more time to evaluate vendors’ bids to outfit Stryker vehicles with 30 mm cannons, with plans to pick a winner pushed back to the end of June.
The service privately notified companies bidding on the Medium Calibre Weapons System (MCWS) programme on 15 March that it was revamping its acquisition timeline. According to one timeline graph obtained by Janes and confirmed with the US Army, the service is slipping the production decision from April until 30 June.
“The target award date changed in order to complete proposal evaluations, which are being conducted in accordance with Department of Defense source selection procedures,” Ashley John, director for public and congressional affairs for the Program Executive Office for Ground Combat Systems, wrote in a 22 March email.
“Any proposal or evaluation information, including information related to the production ready system samples, is source selection sensitive,” John added. “Additional information cannot be provided until after contract award.”
She did not provide additional details about supplementary testing or if vendors could modify the weapons during this time. It is also not clear if the US Army will need to further modify its fielding plan, which already shifted from late fiscal year 2022 (FY 2022) until the March–April 2023 timeframe, after the service gave companies additional time to submit their written proposals, bid samples, and armour coupons last year.
However, one industry source warned that these repeated delays make it risky for companies to make an upfront investment in anticipation of a contract award that could further slow roll things.
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