US Army’s new armored vehicle enters full-rate production
The U.S. Army’s Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle (AMPV) has been approved by the Department of Defense for full-rate production.
In a statement to Defense News, a spokesperson for the service’s Program Executive Office Ground Combat Systems said the full-rate production contract award to AMPV-maker BAE Systems is pending.
The AMPV is the U.S. Army’s program to replace the Vietnam War-era and legacy M113 Family of Vehicles.
The first AMPVs were delivered to the U. S. Army on Sept 2022. The vehicle was handed over in a virtual roll-off ceremony at the BAE production line in York, Pa..
The first prototype was built in 2016. Five variants of the AMPV were delivered to the Army in 2018 for testing, including vehicles for mission command, general purpose, mortar fire support, medical evacuation medical treatment.
The 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 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.
