The NAMC (National Advanced Mobility Consortium), a U.S. defense agency, has selected BAE Systems with its BvS 10 Beowulf and Oshkosh Defense with the Bronco 3 to participate in the prototype phase for the Army's Cold Weather All-Terrain Vehicle, or CATV.
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The two candidates for the Cold Weather All-Terrain Vehicle CATV U.S. Army program. (Picture source Army Recognition)

NAMC's mission is to provide the Government with ready, quality access to the broadest population of U.S. ground vehicle system (GVS), sub-system, and component technology developers and providers in a competitive environment; to work in partnership with the Government to implement and refine business processes and tools to streamline individual project contract administration; and to expedite the innovation, development, and production of new GVS capabilities for U.S. warfighters.

The new Cold Weather All-Terrain Vehicle will replace the old BV-206 tracked articulated, all-terrain personnel carrier in service with the U.S. Army. The vehicles in service with the U.S. Army include the standard model (M973), a tactical operations center variant (M1065), an ambulance variant (M1066) and a flat-bed cargo carrier (M1067).

The BV 206 was developed in 1974 by the Swedish company Hägglund and Söner, who is now Alvis Hägglunds AB, part of BAE Systems. The company was awarded a first production contract in June 1979 from the Swedish Defence Administration.

The Bv 206 consists of two tracked units linked together with a steering unit, each unit consisting of a chassis with the body mounted on four rubber elements. Each chassis consists of a central beam, a final drive assembly and two track assemblies. The chassis of the front and rear units are identical, except that a two-step drop-down gearbox is mounted in the rear end of the front chassis. The vehicle is fully amphibious, being propelled in the water by its tracks. The front vehicle can accommodate up to 6 people while the rear vehicle has space to carry 11 military personnel.

For the CATV (Cold Weather All-Terrain Vehicle) program of U.S. Army, BAE Systems will offer its BVS-10 Beowulf which is a new unprotected platform combining the best of Bv206, Bv206S and BvS10 tracked all-terrain vehicles.

The new CATV vehicle will replace the old M973 and variants in service with the U.S. Army. (Picture source U.S. DoD)

Oshkosh Defense in collaboration with ST Engineering from Singapore will submit the Bronco 3, which is the latest generation of the vehicle in the Bronco family All Terrain Tracked Carrier. The vehicle is fully amphibious with exceptional on and off-road mobility designed to conquer 82% of the world’s terrain in adverse environments.

The Bronco 3 as the BAE Systems BVS-10 Beowulf consists ow two tracked vehicles linked together with a steering unit. The front vehicle has space for 4 people while the rear vehicle can accommodate up to 8 people.

According to a U.S. Army report, the U.S. Army will improve the materiel readiness of Arctic-capable units to conduct extended operations in the region Ensure procured equipment for Arctic-capable formations performs properly at temperatures down to -65°F. The U.S. Army must provide equipment for Arctic-capable formations able to operate at extreme temperatures, down to -65° F for multiple days at a time.