ONR posts ARV RFI

By Loren Blinde August 13, 2018

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On August 10, the Office of Naval Research issued a request for information in anticipation of the Armored Reconnaissance Vehicle (ARV) – Advanced Technologies & Technology Focus Day. Responses are due by 3:00 p.m. Eastern on August 24.

The Office of Naval Research (ONR) is requesting information on technologies that are Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 4 or greater from industry, academia, and government labs that could provide advanced capabilities to the Marine Corps’ future Armored Reconnaissance Vehicle (ARV) and to the overarching Marine Corps armored reconnaissance capability. Specific areas of interest for novel technologies include:

Eight (8) vendors are currently under contract with ONR and performing concept studies of the ARV that will inform the Government of what potential capabilities they believe will be feasible within certain platform size, weight, and cost constraints. Ultimately, the selected vehicle concepts will be fabricated and tested to demonstrate the concepts capabilities and its underlying technologies. The information provided via responses to this RFI will be forwarded to the ARV vendors and is meant to inform their trade studies to ensure that they are aware of as many advanced technology offerings as possible. The technologies of greatest interest will be invited to a Technology Focus Day event in the Washington, D.C. area in which the technology vendors will be able to interact one-on-one directly with concept study performers to share their applicable offerings.

The ARV is envisioned as a possible next generation replacement for the U.S. Marine Corps’ legacy Light Armored Vehicle (LAV) in support of the Light Armored Reconnaissance (LAR) battalions within the Marine Divisions. LAR Battalions have been designed to perform combined arms, all-weather, sustained reconnaissance and security missions in support of the Ground Combat Element and aim to reduce the “fog of war”. Two of the fundamental roles of the LAR Battalion include shaping the battlespace by facilitating a commander’s ability to maneuver and concentrate forces at the decisive point and providing information to commanders that yields a high degree of situational awareness.

Facing more modern threats, LAR Battalions will have to fight for information prior to being able to provide it and will have to shape an increasingly complex battlespace. LAR Battalions will operate in highly contested environments, countering threats that have greater reach and lethality. Next generation armored reconnaissance will require multiple and resilient means to sense and communicate, more capable lethality options to destroy heavily armored threats close-in and at range, and an associated enhanced protection posture to counter those threats.

Core to this next generation capability is the ARV which will be a modern combat vehicle system that balances competing capability demands to sense, shoot, move, communicate and must remain transportable as part of the naval expeditionary force. The ARV will be a leap-ahead technology system, not an incremental upgrade/development to the legacy LAV. Some of the envisioned capabilities include but are not limited to:

Robust cross-country and on-road land mobility with shore-to-shore water mobility
Full spectrum passive & active force protection and survivability
Ability to deliver direct and indirect fires kinetically and non-kinetically
A modern communications suite that is a critical node in Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) with tactical battle management systems
Ability to enhance and extend the reconnaissance reach and provide persistent surveillance
Incorporation of manned and un-manned teaming to extend the reach of the Light Armored Reconnaissance (LAR) battalion
Similar levels of transportability to the legacy LAV which defines platform size and weight