BAE Systems Seals £184m Deal For More AMPVs

BAE Systems has received a $184 million boost from the news that it has been asked to supply the U.S. Army with an extra 48 Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicles (AMPVs).

According to a recent press statement the defence firm has won the order via the modification of its existing contract to replace the U.S. Army's M113 vehicle. The army 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.

The AMPV is a turretless version of the Bradley Fighting Vehicle. It comes in five variants: General Purpose, Mortar Carrier, Medical Evacuation, Medical Treatment, and Mission Command.

As per the BAE statement the AMPV provides "critical survivability, mobility, on-board power and interoperability upgrades to the Armored Brigade Combat Team."

AMPV program director for BAE Systems Bill Sheehy commented: “Soldiers deserve advanced capabilities like the AMPV that have been successfully tested to accomplish the many mission roles they will serve in the formation.” He added:  “It’s remarkable to have advanced to this stage of full-rate production. We value our continued partnerships with the Army and our suppliers who work alongside us to ensure we keep producing these critical combat vehicles at higher, sustainable volumes.”

Work on the AMPVs stretches across BAE Systems’ network of facilities in Aiken, South Carolina; Anniston, Alabama; Phoenix, Arizona; Sterling Heights, Michigan; and York, Pennsylvania. The firm 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