According to Defense News, for the first time since the Cold War, the US Army has selected a contractor to build a new light tank.

The winner of the Mobile Protected Firepower (MPF) tender was General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS), which was initially required to procure 26 tanks capable of ordering 70 more of the same machines for a total of $1.14 billion.

For demonstration at the tender, 8 out of 12 prototypes produced by GDLS will be upgraded and delivered to the troops. Deliveries of the first serial MPF will begin within a month. The launch of full-scale light tank production is scheduled for 2025.

In March, Defense News reported that the United States analyzed the results of tests of light tank prototypes developed under the MPF program.

In 2018, BAE Systems and General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) prototypes were selected to join the MPF. BAE Systems entered a competition with an upgraded M8 tank developed in the 1980s. GDLS introduced a new machine with a fire control system combined with the M1 Abrams tank. In total, MPF plans to purchase 504 cars that will last at least 30 years.