American Rheinmetall’s heritage in defense manufacturing is rooted in decades of precision and innovation. Producing highly reliable components for almost all U.S. combat vehicles, from Bradley fighting vehicles to Abrams tanks and M88 recovery vehicles, American Rheinmetall has consistently delivered battle-tested, mission-critical solutions that exceed performance expectations for the U.S. military. Today, as the defense landscape shifts toward future combat vehicles, American Rheinmetall is redefining what it means to manufacture combat-ready systems, harnessing advanced technologies, digital engineering, and direct Soldier input.
Precision and Quality
“We take a unique approach for a prime vehicle contractor by applying Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP),” said Jason Atkinson, President at American Rheinmetall. “This has been around for decades in the auto industry but applying it to a combat vehicle platform is unique to us—and it’s part of who we are.”
APQP is a structured, preventive approach to product development and manufacturing that ensures every design, component, and process step is carefully analyzed, validated, and controlled before full-scale production begins. By focusing on potential failure points early and embedding quality throughout the workflow, it helps guarantee that the final product meets rigorous military standards and delivers dependable performance in the field.
Supporting this, the company also relies on the Production Part Approval Process (PPAP), which validates manufacturing output before mass production begins, and Process Failure Mode Effects Analysis (PFMEA), which anticipates potential points of failure and mitigates them early. These methods are essential for maintaining the trust of American Rheinmetall’s customers—helping to eliminate costly rework, minimize risk to Soldiers, and ensuring that every vehicle performs exactly as intended under battlefield conditions.
“We’ve been using APQP for nearly two decades, embedding quality into the process upfront to meet the Army’s standards,” said Atkinson.
Digital Engineering
Atkinson emphasizes that digital engineering is at the core of American Rheinmetall’s manufacturing strategy. “We’re developing our manufacturing processes tied directly to the digital architecture and design of the platform,” he said. “When Soldiers provide feedback, we have a closed-loop system that lets us run changes back through the digital thread, ensuring the Soldier on the ground gets exactly what they need.”
This digital thread links every stage of the vehicle lifecycle—from initial concept and simulation through production, validation, and field deployment—enabling an authoritative source of truth for design and manufacturing data. It allows for real-time tracking of changes, ensures configuration integrity, and accelerates adaptation to evolving mission requirements. Combined with model-based systems engineering and data-rich analytics, this ecosystem gives American Rheinmetall unmatched precision and agility, setting a new benchmark for future combat vehicle development.
Strengthening Supply Chains and Workforce Readiness
“Readiness is everything,” said Atkinson. To that end, American Rheinmetall prioritizes vertical integration and dual-source strategies to bolster supply chain resilience. “We’ve invested heavily upfront so that when we reach production phases, we can surge and backstop a vendor if needed,” he said. “Every aspect of our strategy is designed to avoid single points of failure. Whether it’s in materials sourcing or manufacturing capabilities, we’re structured to flex and respond.”
The company’s supply chain resilience is matched by its workforce development efforts. To address the shortage of highly skilled machinists and welders, American Rheinmetall has launched full-scale machine shop and welding training programs, working closely with local partners like the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) to advance these initiatives at its ground combat vehicle manufacturing facilities in Plymouth and Lansing, Michigan. Together, with its partners and collaborators, the company is preparing the next generation of operators to meet the demands of advanced combat vehicle manufacturing, with a clear focus on developing local talent and building capability from the ground up.
Redefining Armor Welding with HCBA Welding
One of the company’s most groundbreaking achievements is its use of High Current Buried Arc Welding (HCBA). This advanced robotic welding technique uses extremely high electrical current and thick wire to achieve deep penetration welds, ideal for armored structures. In fact, it enables American Rheinmetall to reduce traditional weld passes significantly.
“Traditionally, it takes 26 manual weld passes on a cab structure—we do it robotically in just four,” Atkinson said, underscoring the dramatic efficiency gains in time and labor costs. “More importantly, when we ballistically tested the first set of robotic welds, we passed every joint on the first attempt. That’s unheard of and shows just how much precision and reliability we bring to the table.”
This process has led to drastic reductions in time, cost, and risk, boosting throughput and delivering exceptional value to the military.
Innovation in the Field
Few innovations illustrate American Rheinmetall’s commitment to vehicle mobility, survivability, and sustainable solutions more clearly than its band track system innovations.
“We’re developing segmented band track technology—a modular, repairable track system composed of individual segments rather than a single continuous band—giving Soldiers the ability to repair in the field, right there in theater, without needing to tow the vehicle out of harm’s way,” Atkinson noted. “You get the same ride quality as continuous band tracks, but with the added benefit of in-field serviceability.”
The significance of this innovation can’t be overstated. It empowers Warfighters with critical in-theater resilience, and more importantly, the mobility, ride quality, and signature reduction needed to complete the mission and return safely. Atkinson points to current development efforts where feedback from Soldiers highlighted the limitations of existing band track systems in theater. That input directly led to the design of this new segmented approach. “There’s been real concern about serviceability in the field if damage occurs. The new track can be repaired in real time by Soldiers in the field, without delaying the mission or waiting for recovery vehicles,” he explained.
American Rheinmetall’s dominance in track system manufacturing is grounded in decades of proven performance. “Every track system on U.S. ground combat vehicles, from Abrams to Bradley to M88, has come out of our factories,” Atkinson said.
There’s a reason American Rheinmetall remains the sole provider of track systems for all U.S. ground combat vehicles: unmatched vertical integration and deep in-house expertise. The company controls every stage of the process—from rubber compounding and metal fabrication to final assembly—ensuring unrivaled quality and reliability. Its track manufacturing facility in St. Mary’s, Ohio, originally established to support World War II efforts, continues to serve as a center of excellence for military track technology, giving the company an unparalleled legacy and technical edge. This consistency and depth of expertise position the company as a trusted partner in defense manufacturing.
At the same time, American Rheinmetall is proactively investing internally in additive manufacturing technologies. “We’re exploring ways to print entire armored structures using specialized steel and aluminum alloys,” Atkinson said. “We’re probably 18 months out, but when it’s ready, it will completely change the game for how quickly and flexibly we can deliver.”
A Culture Committed to Soldiers
Beyond innovation and technology lies American Rheinmetall’s core mission: keeping American Warfighters safe. “Everything we do is for the young men and women in uniform,” said Atkinson. “I once got a call from a Soldier who told me an ammunition door we built saved his life, reminding me that every component we make can mean the difference between life and death on the battlefield. That’s why we never compromise on quality. That’s why we show up every day.”
Atkinson’s sentiment is shared across the entire American Rheinmetall team and embedded into the company’s design, engineering, and operational culture. Soldier feedback directly informs the development of every component, technology, and product that leaves the manufacturing floor. From welders to engineers, employees are trained to understand the life-or-death stakes of their work, reinforced through internal communications and hands-on training programs that emphasize the gravity of the mission—a deeply personal commitment that is perhaps best captured in Atkinson’s words: “Every decision that we make as a company is tied to keeping our Soldiers safe and bringing them home every single day.”
That’s why American Rheinmetall continues to make good on its promise to deliver exceptional vehicles engineered for reliability, precision, lethality, and survival—all of it together, ensuring our Soldiers are always the victors.