US Army's "Mobile Protected Firepower " competition

General General Discussion
1

So if there’s only one competitor left, is it really a “competition”?

“BAE Systems delivered its final ‘light tank’ prototype to the US Army in early February, one-and-a-half-years later than anticipated, but the company has now been disqualified from competing due to noncompliance issues, two industry sources with knowledge of the programme separately confirmed to Janes. The decision leaves General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) as the only competitor still vying for the Mobile Protected Firepower (MPF) contract.”

https://www.janes.com/defence-news/news-detail/us-army-eliminates-bae-systems-from-light-tank-competition

2

That tank in the article looks amazing. I looked it up and in real-life pictures tank does not look small or light, but still looks pretty cool.

https://militaryleak.com/2020/04/25/general-dynamics-land-systems-unveils-new-light-tank/

3

Is this supposed to replace the old M551 Sheridan which is no longer in service?

4

It would appear so. It’s a follow-on to the XM8:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M8_Armored_Gun_System

5

A long time ago I got involved with the development of something like this.
105mm auto loader cannon.
The Power pack could be swapped in 15 minutes
Just about the size of a T-72
And Air mobile.
What I learned is these things go in fits and starts. Developments happen, technology advances and the thing then dies in infancy.
I’ve wondered if a lot of this isn’t a way to fund developments tax free?