Saturday, May 11, 2024
Saturday, May 11, 2024
The Army has awarded BAE Systems a $797 million contract for full-rate production of the Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle, the company announced Friday. The total contract amount is worth up to $1.6 billion if additional options are exercised.
The announcement from BAE comes about a month after Army officials said the decision had been made for the AMPV program to enter full-rate production.
The AMPV, the replacement for the M113 armored personnel carrier, is “specifically designed to accommodate future technology needs, including enhanced size, weight and power provisions for network integration and future mission payloads,” according to BAE.
There are five variants of the vehicle which include a “general purpose” version that conducts resupply, maintenance and casualty evacuation, as well as variants that are specifically designed for medical evacuation and medical treatment. The other versions include a mortar carrier that supports armored brigade combat teams during “fast-paced offensive operations,” and a mission command vehicle, according to BAE.
The Army first awarded BAE the AMPV contract in 2014 before low-rate initial production began in 2018, according to BAE. The first low-rate initial production vehicle was delivered three years ago.
Last month, service acquisition chief Doug Bush announced the AMPV program would be transitioning to full-rate production. At the time, Bush said service officials were confident that previous challenges about the program not being able to deliver at rate during low-rate initial production had been overcome.
Bush said he was hopeful Congress would fully support the AMPV program, despite a proposed $155 million cut for fiscal year 2024 included in the Senate Appropriations Committee’s defense spending bill.
The M113s, which date to the period of the Vietnam War, are among the weapons the United States has been sending to Ukraine. With supplemental funding from Congress, the Army plans to backfill that M113 inventory with AMPVs.