Army awards cold-weather vehicle contract to BAE

BAE Systems will produce the Army's new specialized arctic vehicle after it was awarded a $278 million contract, the Pentagon announced Monday.

BAE competed against Oshkosh to provide the Cold Weather All-Terrain Vehicle, which will replace the Small Unit Support Vehicle. The Army awarded contracts to BAE and Oshkosh to produce prototypes, both of which were tracked vehicles that can operate in the snow, mud and extreme cold for use in Arctic operations. The CATV is part of the Army’s arctic strategy.

Temperatures approached 50 degrees below zero during testing of BAE’s offering, the Beowulf, the company said in a March 23 press release.

“Beowulf performed in multiple tasks while remaining fully mission-capable during the prototype evaluation phase in Alaska that began in June and ended earlier this year,” the press release stated. “The testing included amphibious operations, navigating terrain with varying levels of complexity, starting and operating in extreme cold weather, and most critically, user assessment by soldiers.”

The vehicle is an unarmored version of the BvS10, which the United Kingdom, France, Sweden, Norway and Austria already use, BAE has previously said. BAE Hagglunds, a Swedish division of the company, has collaborated on the program.

BAE’s website says the vehicle can carry up to 14 people.

The contract will cover production units, spare parts and contractor logistics support, according to the Pentagon announcement, which said work locations and funding will be determined with each of the Army’s orders. The contract is expected to end in 2029.

The procurement objective is 110 vehicles, while the acquisition objective is 163, a service official said last year.