The US Army has awarded BAE Systems with a six-year contract worth up to USD600 million for the sustainment of its new Armoured Multi-Purpose Vehicle (AMPV) line and its M113 family of vehicles.
The deal and work will run through July 2026, the service announced on 7 July.
“This sustainment contract enables adding new capabilities and technologies on AMPVs throughout their time in service,” the company wrote in an 8 July statement. Bill Sheehy, BAE Systems' AMPV programme director, added that these funds will support production and “allow” for future upgrades to existing variants.
The army plans to replace the in-service M113 armoured personnel carrier (APC) with AMPV. This new tracked combat vehicle line includes five configurations – general purpose, mission command, mortar carriers, medical evacuation, and medical treatment – designed to address the M113 family of vehicles' ‘shortcomings' to include enhanced survivability and force protection; enhanced size, weight, power, and cooling (SWaP-C); and the ability to incorporate future technologies and the army's network.
BAE Systems produces the vehicle at its facility in York, Pennsylvania, and has now delivered at least one vehicle in each configuration to the army. However, the company has experienced production challenges and delivery delays with several lines including AMPV, which, in part, prompted the army to rebaseline its AMPV schedule and procurement strategy in 2020. As a result, the service pushed a full-rate production decision from fiscal year (FY) 2022 to 2023.
This new plan pushed the army to cut AMPV procurement in FY 2022. Service officials had detailed a road map to ramp up its buy in FY 2022 to USD682 million to purchase 168 vehicles. However, the army only asked Congress for USD105 million in AMPV procurement funding for next year.
Looking to read the full article?
Gain unlimited access to Janes news and more...
