First Look at GDLS’s Wolf Vehicle Competing to Replace the Bradley

General Dynamics Land Systems has shown a one-eighth-scale model of its Wolf armored fighting vehicle, one of two designs competing for the U.S. Army’s XM30 program. The design builds on the Griffin III and has revised features, including a redesigned turret and hull, while prototypes from both competitors are undergoing Army evaluation.

The War Zone has reported:

General Dynamics Land Systems has released the first official view of its Wolf armored fighting vehicle proposal, which is competing to replace the U.S. Army’s Bradley Fighting Vehicles. The Wolf is one of two designs vying to become the Army’s future XM30 Mechanized Infantry Combat Vehicle, or MICV. The company displayed a one-eighth-scale model at the Association of the U.S. Army’s main annual convention, where The War Zone was in attendance. KiwiMill made the model.

The competing design is based on Germany’s Lynx infantry fighting vehicle and comes from Rheinmetall through its U.S. subsidiary, American Rheinmetall. Earlier coverage of the XM30 competition included new information about both entries and the Army’s testing plans. The two contenders have already delivered prototypes to the Army, and initial testing has taken place at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland.

The Wolf is an evolution of GDLS’ Griffin III design, first shown publicly at the AUSA convention in 2018. Griffin III was derived from the ASCOD 2 infantry fighting vehicle. Spain was the launch customer for the ASCOD 2, which is now entering service in Latvia. The U.S. Army’s cancelled M10 Booker “light tank” and the British Army’s much-troubled Ajax are also part of the broader family of armoured vehicles.

The model suggests substantial changes from the Griffin III demonstrator. The Wolf’s turret appears broader, flatter and more streamlined, in keeping with its remotely operated configuration. It has one sensor turret on top and space for a forward-looking sensor suite to the left of its main 50-millimetre cannon. Possible openings for other sensors or systems appear elsewhere on the turret’s front and sides. The model also shows more smoke grenade launchers around the turret’s front edges than the Griffin III had.

The hull has also been revised, including the removal of a conventional driver’s hatch in front of the turret ring. The commander, who also serves as gunner, sits beside the driver deeper inside the hull. A compartment farther back can carry as many as six passengers. The Bradley, by comparison, has a three-person crew and can also transport six passengers.

Side skirts and a different style of tracks appear on the Wolf model, features not shown on the Griffin III demonstrator. The image released by GDLS also shows sensors facing outward from the front portion of the hull’s side. They fit with a distributed camera system intended to provide personnel inside with a 360-degree view of the vehicle’s surroundings.

Geoffrey Norman, GDLS’ director for U.S. Strategy & Growth, previously described the demands on the smaller crew to The War Zone. “Because we have a reduced crew from the Bradley [which has a commander and gunner in turret] there has to be greater efficiency in how those soldiers execute their tasks,” Norman said. “The software and menu logic are very intuitive.”

The XM30 requirements include next-generation fire control, sensors and networking and communications, as well as improved active and passive defences. Both the Wolf and the Lynx-based entry have built-in launchers for loitering munitions. GDLS has selected AeroVironment’s Switchblade 300 for its design, though that feature is not explicitly visible on the Wolf model shown so far.

Both vehicles also use hybrid-electric propulsion. Compared with the Bradley’s diesel engine, the approach is expected to improve fuel economy and increase the electrical power available on board. Norman has said the Army wants that power capacity to leave room for future equipment. “The emphasis from the Army has really been about having margin on the vehicle for future [system] requirements - directed energy, counter-UAS systems, or fill-in-the-blank,” he said.

The Army plans to hold soldier touchpoints and field evaluations at Fort Hood, Texas, between February and March of next year. The report does not specify the calendar year for those planned activities. In the meantime, the Wolf’s scale model has provided a clear view of one of the two designs competing to replace the Bradley. An actual Wolf prototype was seen under wraps after delivery to Aberdeen Proving Ground around the end of August 2026.