BAE Systems has delivered its first Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle (AMPV) to the US Army after working through a six-month delay as it overhauled the way it produces vehicles at a key facility.
On 31 August the company delivered an AMPV mission command variant to the service and the vehicle is now expected to be put through its paces.
“The mission command vehicle will be the first vehicle delivered and is the cornerstone of the army's Armored Brigade Combat Teams (ABCT) network modernisation strategy,” the company wrote in a 2 September announcement. “It facilitates digital mission command, taking advantage of increased volume, protection, power, and cooling capabilities and provides flexibility and growth capacity for command, control, communications, and computer capabilities.”
The AMPV line is designed to replace the army’s M113 family of vehicles and BAE Systems is currently under contract to build and deliver more than 450 low-rate initial production (LRIP) vehicles in five different configurations — general purpose, mission command, mortar carrier, medical evacuation, and medical treatment vehicles.
The first vehicle was slated to be delivered in March but that date first slipped to July and then August for a variety of reasons including the ongoing pandemic and manufacturing changes at the company’s York, Pennsylvania, facility.
BAE Systems delivered its first AMPV to the US Army on 31 August. The vehicle, shown here, is a mission command variant. (BAE Systems)
“The army and BAE Systems formalised the schedule change to gain the advantage of increased throughput just as the coronavirus [Covid-19] hit the United States and impacted manufacturing facilities and supply chains across the globe,” company spokeswoman Amanda Niswonger told Janes
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