The US Army has awarded a contract to provide maintenance and support over the next five years for the turret-less variant of the BRADLEY, which will replace the M113 as the Armoured Multi Purpose Vehicle (AMPV). Manufacturer BAE Systems is to provide service for all five variants at a cost of €510 million. BAE Systems was contracted to produce the first batch of around 450 examples as low-rate initial production (LRIP) vehicles in 2018. Delivery of the first AMPV in the Mission Command variant took place after several months delay in August 2020. Tests in the service are to begin in early 2022 after completion of acceptance tests in order to achieve initial operational capacity as soon as possible and equipment of the first units is scheduled to begin in early 2023. The full rate production (FRP) order is expected in the second quarter of 2022.
The five AMPV variants are:
- the Mission Command, which is a node in the tactical network and provides space for the driver, commander and two operators,
- the General Purpose vehicle for general transport tasks with space for the driver, commander and six soldiers or, for example, a stretcher
- the Mortar Carrier with a 120 mm mortar, a crew of four and up to 69 rounds of ammunition
- the Medical Evacuation Vehicle with a crew of three for the transport of six sitting or four lying or three sitting and two lying patients
- the Medical Treatment vehicle with a treatment table for one wounded person as well as a driver, commander and two medical specialists
The total requirement is estimated by the Army at more than 2,900 vehicles at a cost of more than €9Bn. This results in an average unit price of about €3.1M.
Gerhard Heiming
