On April 17, 2020, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) has announced that BAE Systems Land & Armaments L.P., Sterling Heights, Michigan, was awarded a $14,069,872 modification (P00087) to contract W56HZV-15-C-A001 for engineering and manufacturing development portion of the Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle (AMPV). The AMPV is the U.S. Army’s program to replace the Vietnam War-era and legacy M113 Family of Vehicles.

New AMPV Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle for U.S. Army. (Picture source BAE Systems)

In December 2014, BAE Systems was awarded a 52-month contract covering the AMPV's engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) and low-rate initial production (LRIP) phases. Under the EMD phase, a total of 29 AMPVs in all five variants are to be delivered. The contract's LRIP phase will cover 289 vehicles, and under current plans, it is expected that 2,907 AMPVs could be procured in five variants.

In February 2019, BAE Systems has announced that the U.S. Army has awarded the Company two contract modifications worth up to $575 million for the low-rate initial production of the Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle (AMPV).

Previously awarded funding to support production planning, combined with the $128 million January award allowed BAE Systems to start production. The second award in February for $447 million brings the total LRIP funding so far to $873 million.

These contracts come following the Engineering, Manufacturing and Development phase and a Milestone C decision. Under the earlier EMD award, the company produced and delivered prototype vehicles to the Army for test and evaluation purposes. The initial award in 2014 also provided options to begin the LRIP phase prior to the completion of the EMD phase, at which time the company would produce up to approximately 460 additional vehicles for a cumulative contract value of up to $1.2 billion.

The AMPV program provides the Army with a more survivable and mobile fleet of vehicles that addresses a critical need to replace the Vietnam War-era M113s. Production will include five variants of the AMPV: XM1283 General Purpose (GP), XM1284 Medical Evacuation Vehicle (MEV), XM1285 Medical Treatment Vehicle (MTV), XM1287 Mortar Carrier Vehicle (MCV), XM1286 Mission Command (MCmd) and engineer vehicles.

 The AMPV Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle is based on the Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle platform with a similar layout but without any combat turret. The driver sits at the front of the vehicle on the left and has a single-piece hatch cover that opens to the rear and four-day periscopes, three to the front and one to the left side.