30mm Turret Version Of AMPV Unveiled
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BAE Systems is showcasing its new Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle (AMPV) prototype equipped with a 30mm Kongsberg turret at a major American defence exhibition.
The new variant is on display for the first time at the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) 2024 Annual Meeting and Exposition. The three-day event is being held at the Walter Washington Convention Center, in Washington, DC and concludes today (Wednesday).
The 30mm turret version is the fifth in a series of AMPV prototypes that BAE Systems has unveiled in the last year. It incorporates Kongsberg's Medium Caliber Turret (MCT), a lightweight remote system the U.S. Marine Corps has already chosen for its Amphibious Combat Vehicle (ACV) programme.
The 30mm AMPV variant is being showcased at AUSA alongside the Modular Turreted Mortar System (MTMS), which has recently completed U.S. Army evaluations at the Yuma Test Center.
In a press statement Bill Sheehy, BAE Systems' AMPV program director, commented: “Our goal with the AMPV common top plate has remained the same since day one. We are demonstrating the time and cost-effective options the AMPV brings to the table for soldiers who need new and evolving capabilities quickly so they are ready for today’s battlefields and can easily adapt to the unpredictable needs that will occur decades from now.
"The AMPV hull provides the U.S. Army with a full spectrum of options for potential upgrades and mission roles beyond the current family of vehicles.”
The AMPV MTMS prototype tested last month in a successful live-fire demonstration at Fort Moore, Georgia, features the Kongsberg/Patria NEMO remote-controlled 120mm turreted mortar system.
The three other systems that have been configured onto the AMPV over the last year include a C-UAS turret, an unmanned 30mm turret and a medium caliber 30mm weapon system.
“The AMPV is truly future-proofed,” Sheehy said. “We purposefully designed these vehicles with modularity, flexibility and forward-looking technology which provides the army with a ready-for-anything platform that’s capability agnostic. Like its predecessor, AMPVs will be everywhere in the formation.”
The AMPV is a turretless version of the Bradley Fighting Vehicle. It comes in five basic variants: General Purpose, Mortar Carrier, Medical Evacuation, Medical Treatment, and Mission Command.
The AMPV has been designed as a replacement for the U.S. Army's M113 vehicle. The force is currently thought to be operating more than 2,800 M113s and the total potential value of the AMPV contract has been estimated at north of $5 billion.
At the end of 2014 BAE Systems was awarded a $383 million Engineering, Manufacturing, and Development (EMD) contract to produce 29 vehicles across each of the variants. It included an option to produce an additional 289 vehicles taking the total value of the contract to about $1.2 billion.
BAE Systems is currently expanding its Pennsylvania facility to help it deliver the vehicles at faster rates for the U.S. and other potential international customers.
- You can read more details on the BAE Systems website