U.S. GDLS XM30 Infantry Combat Vehicle nears Bradley replacement after critical design review success.

On June 6, 2025, General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) confirmed that its born-digital XM30 Infantry Combat Vehicle (IFV) has passed the U.S. Army’s Critical Design Review, locking in prototype delivery for 2026 and opening the decisive phase of a US $45 billion competition to replace the Bradley fleet. The review crowns the Army’s first fully virtual development cycle and puts digital-thread engineering and the Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA) at centre stage. In a conflict environment transformed by drones and precision fires, the ability to refresh software and hardware in months rather than years could tip the balance on tomorrow’s battlefields.
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By pairing a 50 mm gun with hybrid-electric mobility and native MOSA, XM30 delivers longer standoff, reduced acoustic and infrared signatures, and plug-and-play upgrade paths unmatched by either rival (Picture source: Army Recognition Group)

The XM30 rides a 42-ton chassis powered by a hybrid-electric drivetrain and carries a remote-controlled XM913 50 × 228 mm cannon backed by twin anti-tank missiles. An AI-assisted fire-control suite, layered passive armour, active protection, and counter-UAS sensors all talk to one another through an open “digital backbone”, allowing two crew to manage six embarked infantry while running “silent watch” on battery power.

Conceived in 2019 as the Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle, the programme pivoted to model-based 3-D design in 2021; GDLS and American Rheinmetall each received roughly US $800 million for detailed design and prototypes. Passing CDR keeps GDLS on schedule for soldier evaluations in 2026, a Milestone B decision later this month, and a winner-take-all down-select in fiscal-year 2027 that would feed low-rate production in FY-2028 and full-rate output by FY-2030.

Against its peers, the XM30 stands out. The legacy Bradley M2A4 mounts a 25 mm chain-gun, needs a three-person crew and lacks hybrid propulsion; Rheinmetall’s Lynx KF41 offers a 30/35 mm turret and a diesel engine but was not designed from birth as a software-defined platform. By pairing a 50 mm gun with hybrid-electric mobility and native MOSA, XM30 delivers longer standoff, reduced acoustic and infrared signatures, and plug-and-play upgrade paths unmatched by either rival.

Strategically, a U.S. adoption of MOSA sets a template for allies who can graft national radios, counter-drone kits or loitering-munition launchers onto a common chassis without expensive re-certification. Geopolitically, it signals to near-peers that Western land forces intend to refresh combat vehicles as quickly as smartphones, an agility vividly reinforced by battlefield lessons from Ukraine’s drone-saturated front lines. Militarily, the hybrid drive enables stealthy manoeuvre and high onboard electrical power for future directed-energy or sensor payloads, while the digital thread promises rapid, secure software patching in a contested electromagnetic spectrum.

Financially, Congress has already appropriated about US $2.4 billion for design and competitive prototyping, including the most recent US $1.6 billion dual-award to GDLS and Rheinmetall. If the Army buys its planned 3,800 vehicles, total life-cycle spending will approach the programme’s US $45 billion estimate, making XM30 the largest U.S. armoured-vehicle acquisition since the Abrams tank.

GDLS’s CDR success shows that a fully virtual, software-centric approach can sprint from screen to steel without the costly detours that plagued earlier armoured projects. Should upcoming trials validate the design, the XM30 will not merely replace the Bradley; it will redefine how the West conceives, builds and modernises its combat vehicles for decades to come.