The U.S. Army has awarded BAE Systems Land & Armaments LP, Sterling Heights, Michigan, modification (P00080) to contract W56HZV-15-C-A001 worth up to 0,905,801 to procure 160 of the BAE Systems Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle (AMPV). Work will be performed in York, Pennsylvania, with an estimated completion date of Feb. 28, 2023. Fiscal 2019 and 2020 European reassurance initiative, defense; and procurement of weapons and tracked combat vehicles, Army funds in the amount of $400,905,801 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Warren, Michigan, is the contracting activity.
These awards mark the beginning of low-rate production for the highly mobile, survivable, multipurpose vehicle designed to meet the mission of the U.S. Army’s Armored Brigade Combat Teams (ABCT). These contracts come following the Engineering, Manufacturing and Development phase and a Milestone C decision. Under the earlier EMD award, the company produced and delivered prototype vehicles to the Army for test and evaluation purposes. The initial award in 2014 also provided options to begin the LRIP phase prior to the completion of the EMD phase, at which time the company would produce up to approximately 460 additional vehicles for a cumulative contract value of up to $1.2 billion.
The Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle (AMPV) is a U.S. Army program to replace the M113 armored personnel carrier and family of vehicles. The M113 has been in service since the early 1960s and while able to take on various roles, has proven too vulnerable for combat. In the 1980s, the M2 Bradley replaced the M113 in the front-line transport role, moving it to rear-area roles. In the Iraq War, urban warfare tactics still defeated the M113, leading it to be nearly replaced entirely in active service by MRAP vehicles. MRAPs were useful on the roads of Iraq, but have less payload capacity and poorer off-road performance. The AMPV aims to find a vehicle more versatile and mobile against a wide range of adversaries while having off-road mobility compared to Bradleys and M1 Abrams tanks.
The US Army has identified the AMPV as its top priority for the safety and survivability of soldiers and therefore meets tough protection requirements. The AMPV leverages aspects of the Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle and M109A7 self-propelled howitzer, furthering commonality in the ABCT fleet of vehicles. The US Army and BAE Systems are currently in low-rate production of the five AMPV variants. The variants include a general purpose vehicle for troop transport, along with mission command, mortar carrier, medical evacuation and medical treatment versions. AMPV is a mature, low-risk and cost-effective solution that rapidly delivers continued combat overmatch capability for the Army.
