The US Army has awarded BAE Systems a USD 797 M contract to continue production of the Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle (AMPV), the company announced on 1 September 2023.
The contract, additional options for which could bring the potential contract amount to USD 1.6 Bn, brings the AMPV programme into full-rate production, making it the first newly designed and built tracked vehicle in the US Army’s inventory to reach this production stage in three decades.
The AMPV, which replaces the US Army’s family of Vietnam War-era M113 vehicles, provides critical survivability, mobility, and interoperability upgrades to the US Army’s armored brigade combat teams (ABCTs).
“Entering full-rate production is a momentous milestone in the lifecycle of a production program for both the US Army and BAE Systems,” Jeremy Tondreault, president of the Platforms & Services sector at BAE Systems, was quoted by the company as saying. “The AMPV is the next-generation replacement for the venerable M113, and we are proud that this critical capability is on its way to the men and women who need our most capable combat vehicles on the front lines.”
The US Army first awarded BAE Systems the AMPV contract in 2014 and signed a low-rate initial production (LRIP) contract in 2018. The first LRIP vehicle was delivered in August 2020.
The multi-mission AMPV family includes the following variants: a general-purpose vehicle to operate throughout the battlespace to conduct resupply, maintenance and an alternative platform for casualty evacuation from point of injury; a mortar carrier to provide immediate and responsive heavy mortar fire support to the ABCT; a medical evacuation vehicle to enable immediate treatment or evacuation at the point of injury for both ambulatory and litter casualties; a medical Treatment vehicle to serve as a first-of-its-kind ‘operating room on tracks’ for life-sustaining care to critically injured soldiers; and a mission command vehicle to enable digital command, control, and communications capabilities on the battlefield.
The AMPV is specifically designed to accommodate future technology needs, including enhanced size, weight, and power provisions for network integration and future mission payloads.
An estimated completion date for this latest AMPV contract was given by the US Department of Defense as 28 February 2027.
Peter Felstead
