General Dynamics wins contract for Abrams SEPv4 additions

General Dynamics Land Systems will add new training software and cybersecurity capabilities to the next generation of the M1 Abrams main battle tank under a contract the Army announced Feb. 19.

The Army will pay GDLS $25 million "to incorporate the Abrams Platform Embedded Training System Gate-To-Live-Fire capabilities and fault insertion language" into the Abrams M1A2 SEPv4, the announcement stated.

"This software update provides the opportunity to increase virtual opportunistic training capability for Abrams tank crews while reducing dependency on the Advanced Gunnery Training System (AGTS) as the primary provider of synthetic training in" Armored Brigade Combat Teams, Ashley John, a spokeswoman for the Program Executive Office Ground Combat Systems, wrote in an email to Inside Defense.

In addition, the contract includes "additional cybersecurity capabilities and replacement of the Loader's Portable Multifunction Display with the Mounted Family of Computing Systems tablet" for the SEPv4, according to the announcement.

Leonardo DRS won a pair of contracts in June, together worth $310 million, to supply the newest MFoCS system, a suite of computers, tablets and peripherals for vehicles.

GDLS won the contract to design the SEPv4, the next generation of the Abrams tank, in 2017. The SEPv4 includes upgrades to the tank's cameras, targeting aids, diagnostics and fire-control systems, and the Army plans to begin fielding it in fiscal year 2025.

The SEPv4 is an upgrade to the Abrams M1A2 SEPv3, which GDLS is currently producing for the Army. GDLS won a $4.6 billion production contract in December for the SEPv3.

GDLS was awarded a separate $16 million contract Feb. 22 "for engineering efforts to develop a conversion approach" for one each of the Saudi and Kuwaiti variants of the M1A2 Abrams to be converted to the Taiwanese variant of the tank, according to an Army contract announcement.