WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army has awarded a sixth contract to EOS Defense Systems USA, Inc. to develop a design to integrate a new weapon system on a Stryker combat vehicle.

The service originally announced it was awarding contracts to five companies, but following a protest filed by EOS, it reevaluated the company’s proposal and determined it too should receive a contract, according to the Stryker project manager, Col. Glenn Dean, who spoke to Defense News in an interview this month.

The company protested the Army’s original decision through Army Contracting Command; upon review, Dean said, it was learned the proposal had not been “accurately assessed.”

The sixth award was made June 5 and posted to the Federal Business Opportunities website. The Army made no follow-up announcement regarding the contract.

EOS is an Australian-owned company focused on precise, remote weapon systems.

The Army awarded $150,000 contracts to five companies on May 23 under its Stryker Medium Caliber Weapons System (MCWS) lethality program:

General Dynamics Land Systems

Kollsman, Inc.

Leonardo DRS

Raytheon

Pratt & Miller Engineering and Fabrication, Inc.

Defense News first reported in May that the Army had decided — after upgunning some of its Stryker vehicles with a 30mm cannon — that it would proceed to outfit at least three of its six brigades of double V-hull A1 Stryker infantry carrier vehicles with the more powerful guns and would hold a competition to acquire that weapon system.

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The companies have to come up with integration designs using a government-furnished XM813 gun on a government-furnished Stryker DVH A1 hull.

The Army was prepared to award six contracts and had the money to bring EOS into the effort, Dean said.

Despite the late award, EOS was able to jump into the effort and participated in contractor training on the Stryker and the 30mm cannon, which took place earlier this month, so the companies could take possession of the government-furnished equipment.

Deadly force: The Army's new plan to make its vehicle fleet more lethal A major initiative is afoot to ensure lethality overmatch against peer adversaries such as Russia and China.

The MCWS program will be carried out in two phases, which will culminate in equipping a Stryker DVH A1 brigade in fiscal 2022, according to the Army.

As part of the design study, competitors will build a production-representative vehicle.

The second phase will be a full and open competition to award a production contract. Draft requests for proposals will be released to industry beginning in fall 2019.

The two phases, as well as fielding, are expected to take 39 months total — a short timeline.