BAE Systems to design AMPV replacements for M113 combat vehicles in potential $1.2 billion contract
WARREN, Mich., 29 Dec. 2014. Armored combat vehicle experts at the BAE Systems Platforms & Services segment in Sterling Heights, Mich., will design and build a replacement for the U.S. Army’s Vietnam-era M113 family of vehicles under terms of a potential $1.2 billion contract announced last week.
Officials of the Army Contracting Command's Tank and Automotive segment in Warren, Mich., announced a $382.7 million contract to BAE Systems two days before Christmas for the Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle (AMPV) program. With options the AMPV program could be worth as much as $1.2 billion, BAE Systems officials say.
The Army's AMPV program consists of five vehicle variants: general purpose, mission command, mortar carrier, medical evaluation, and medical treatment vehicles.
The AMPV program calls for vetronics and software that adhere to the U.S. military's Vehicle Integration for C4ISR/EW Interoperability (VICTORY) standards, which use an adopt-adapt-author approach independent of specific hardware or software.
The program aims to provide the Army with a survivable and mobile fleet of vehicles to replace the Vietnam-era M113 armored personnel carriers.
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“The AMPV will provide a substantial upgrade over the Army’s current personnel carrier fleet, increasing the service’s survivability, force protection, and mobility while providing for future growth potential," says Mark Signorelli, vice president and general manager of combat vehicles at BAE Systems.
The initial award is for a 52-month base term, during which BAE Systems will build 29 vehicles across each of the variants. The award also provides an option to begin the low-rate initial production (LRIP) phase immediately following the current full-scale development phase.
The LRIP contract option would call for BAE Systems to build an additional 289 vehicles for a total contract value of $1.2 billion, company officials say.
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The AMPV capitalizes on the BAE Systems M2A3 Bradley Fighting Vehicle and M109A7 advanced Paladin self-propelled artillery designs to enable the AMPV to maneuver with the rest of the Army's armored brigade combat team (ABCT) alongside the M1 Abrams tank and the M2 Bradley.
The M113, which BAE Systems is designing the AMPV to replace, is a tracked armored personnel carrier designed initially in the early 1960s for mechanized infantry units in Vietnam. The Army still uses the M113 for support roles such as armored ambulance, mortar carrier, engineer vehicle, and command vehicle. The Bradley is the Army's primary armored personnel carrier.
The M113 can carry a .50 caliber machine gun and 40-millimeter grenade launcher. It weighs 12.3 tonnes, is nearly 16 feet long, 9 feet wide and 8 feet tall, has a crew of two, and can carry as many as 11 infantry into battle. The armored vehicle can go as fast as 42 miles per hour and has a range of about 300 miles.
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The Bradley Fighting Vehicle, on which BAE Systems is basing the new AMPV design, weighs 27.6 tonnes, is 21.5 feet long, 12 feet wide, and 9.8 feet tall, and carriers a crew of three and can travel as fast as 41 miles per hour. The BAE Systems AMPV team includes DRS Technologies, Northrop Grumman Corp., Air Methods Corp., and Red River Army Depot.
On the AMPV full-scale development program, BAE Systems will do the work in Aiken, S.C.; Santa Clara, Calif.; Sterling Heights, Mich.; and York, Pa., and should be finished by May 2019.
For more information contact BAE Systems Platforms & Services online at www.baesystems.com, or the Army Contracting Command's Tank and Automotive segment at www.tacom.army.mil.
