BAE Systems has delivered the first Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle (AMPV) Turreted Mortar prototype to the US Army, the company announced on 6 March 2024.
The prototype, which features the Patria NEMO remote-controlled 120 mm turreted mortar system, also showcases a newly designed top plate system, the External Mission Equipment Package (ExMEP), that facilitates the easy installation of a variety of turrets.
The result of a rapid collaborative technology investment effort involving the US Army, BAE Systems and Kongsberg/Patria, the prototype demonstrates potential variant growth for the AMPV family of vehicles. By using a fielded and fully qualified asset like the AMPV chassis, it gives the army options to field combat capabilities, such as the Patria NEMO mortar system, to soldiers who need them at a much faster pace and reduced cost.
“Handing this remarkable capability over to the army for evaluation is an important step in creating broader multi-purpose options for soldiers to maintain combat overmatch on the battlefield,” Bill Sheehy, BAE Systems AMPV programme director, was quoted as saying in a company press release. “The AMPV Turreted Mortar prototype was born from a capability discussion we had with the Army in 2022 – the same year ExMEP was conceptualised with industry partners – and we look forward to its evaluation. The collaborative, future-driven approach to develop it will benefit the warfighter, and that is what the AMPV programme is all about.”
The AMPV Turreted Mortar prototype is an indirect and direct fire support platform that can be used in multi-mission scenarios. The system enables multiple-rounds simultaneous impact fire missions where up to five mortar rounds can hit a target simultaneously in less than four seconds while the vehicle is stationary or on the move.
The AMPV Mortar Carrier variant, which is one of the five variants currently in production for the army, uses a legacy 120 mm mortar system. The new AMPV Turreted Mortar prototype thus offers a significant enhancement that would not only allow for increased capabilities and force protection, but also keep soldiers completely under the armoured protection provided by the vehicle.
Over the next several months, the Army will run the AMPV Turreted Mortar prototype through rigorous field evaluations to mark its capabilities against what soldiers would require in the battlefield.
This is the second turreted AMPV prototype that BAE Systems has showcased in the last three months, the other being one featuring a counter-unmanned aircraft system (C-UAS) capability that also utilises the ExMEP top plate.
“As the future of battle evolves the purpose-built framework of the AMPV platform exemplifies endless opportunities for seamless capability integration for the army’s Armored Brigade Combat Team,” BAE Systems stated in its press release.
