BAE confirms it will build Arctic vehicle prototype

BAE Systems confirmed today that it is one of the two companies the Army selected to compete for the Cold Weather All-Terrain Vehicle, the service's new ground vehicle for the Arctic.

The Army said last week that BAE and a team of Oshkosh and ST Engineering will deliver prototypes by June 14 for the CATV competition. Each company will provide two prototypes: one general-purpose and one cargo variant.

The vehicles will be tested in Alaska this year ahead of the Army's scheduled selection of one of them in the third quarter of fiscal year 2022.

BAE will provide two of its Beowulf vehicles, which are unarmored, tracked and designed for mobility over challenging terrain, such as swamps and melting ice, Mark Signorelli, vice president of BAE Systems Platforms and Services, said during an April 12 call with reporters.

"I can't imagine that there is a better fit for the Army's needs than what Beowulf provides," Signorelli said.

The Beowulf is the unarmored version of the BvS10, an armored vehicle that is currently used by the United Kingdom, France, Sweden, Norway and Austria, Signorelli said.

"The family of vehicles is well-exercised," he said.

Signorelli did not have a specific timeline of when the prototypes would be delivered to the Army, except to say that BAE will meet the June 14 deadline the Army has set.

"We are just waiting now on shipping instructions from the Army," he said.

BAE Systems Hagglunds builds the Beowulf in Sweden, and the vehicle would be assembled there if it is selected by the Army, Signorelli said. He said the planned schedule and procurement quantities for the vehicle would not justify opening an American assembly line.

"It wouldn't make sense either for the company or the Army" to move production to America, Signorelli said.

Many of the Beowulf's components are made in the United States, including the engine, transmission and hydraulics, Signorelli said.