BAE Systems has received a $418 million contract from the U.S. Army to produce and deliver additional sets of M109A7 Self-Propelled Howitzers and their companion, the M992A3 ammunition carriers. The contract, which was awarded in November 2023, extends the period of performance with vehicle deliveries through 2025. BAE Systems received the initial contract for M109A7 production in 2017. This most recent order brings the total contract value to $2.5 billion. M109A7 and M992A3 production and support takes place at the Anniston Army Depot in Alabama and BAE Systems facilities in York, Pennsylvania; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Sterling Heights, Michigan; Endicott, New York; Elgin, Oklahoma; and Aiken, South Carolina
“This contract furthers our commitment to helping the U.S. Army meet its mission needs. The battlefield is constantly changing, but the ABCT can feel assured in the indirect fire support capability this vehicle provides,” said Dan Furber, director of ground vehicle production for BAE Systems’ Combat Mission Systems business.
The M109A7’s new design includes a new chassis, engine, transmission, suspension, steering system, a new high voltage architecture, and improved survivability. The M109A7 program’s improved commonality across the ABCT eases the logistics burden and reduces operational sustainability costs. The vehicle is also engineered to support higher- caliber extended-range cannon assemblies critical to achieving the Army’s extended range lethality goals. The M109A7 is the latest howitzer in the BAE Systems M109 family of vehicles and the primary indirect fire support system for the Army’s Armored Brigade Combat Teams (ABCT). The vehicle is equipped with modernized capabilities in size, weight, power, cooling, readiness, force protection, and survivability, which together provide Army commanders with a more capable and sustainable vehicle on the battlefield.Army.
The M992A3 Carrier, Ammunition, Tracked (CAT) is built on the chassis of the M109-series Self-Propelled Howitzers. It is also colloquially referred to as a “FAASV” (Field Artillery Ammunition Supply Vehicle). This ammunition vehicle has no turret, but has a taller superstructure to store 95 rounds with a corresponding number of powders and primers. This ammunition vehicle has no turret, but has a taller superstructure to store 95 rounds with a corresponding number of powders and primers. There is a maximum of 92 conventional rounds, 45 each in two racks, and 3 M712 Copperhead rounds. The remaining internal crew space was taken up by a hydraulically powered conveyor system designed to allow the quick uploading of rounds or their transfer to the M109-series howitzer. The M992A3 replaced the M548 supply vehicle. Unlike the M548, it is armored.
