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The AMPV is designed to replace the M113 armored personnel carrier, which was first introduced back in 1960. Here’s what DefenseNews has to say about that decades-old family of vehicles.
The M113 has been used to resupply, conduct battle command functions, deliver organic indirect fires, provide logistics support and medical treatment and perform medical and casualty evacuation for armored brigade combat teams (ABCT). The obsolete vehicle can no longer keep pace with the M1 Abrams and the M2/M3 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle resident in those formations.
Therefore, the Army decided it was time for an upgrade. The AMPV builds on the Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle, which is also built by BAE. According to BreakingDefense, it does this by removing the “heavily-armed turret” but adding a “thoroughly upgraded hull to offer improved protection, power generation and automotive performance.”
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BAE Systems first won the contract for the AMPV in December 2014. The award was for $383 million for development and production of 29 AMPV vehicles built across five variants: general purpose (the prototype of which was introduced to the Army), mission command, mortar carrier, medical evacuation, and medical treatment. There’s also an optional low-rate initial production phase for 289 AMPVs which would bump up the contract to $1.2 billion, DefenseNews says.
AMPV prototypes will continue to be delivered in 2017. Developmental testing will take place through 2018.
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