DSEI 2023: BAE Systems readies new versions of Armored Multi Purpose Vehicle with European exports in mind

BAE Systems Land and Armaments is showing for the first time at DSEI 2023 its Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle (AMPV) which entered service with the US Army in March 2023 with almost 300 having now been built.

In US service this is the replacement for the M113A3 armoured personnel carrier (APC) and variants.

As a number of European countries still deploy M113-series vehicles, BAE Systems see a potential export market for AMPV.

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Some of these countries however are already replacing their remaining M113s with other platforms including Denmark with the GDELS MOWAG Piranha 5 8x8 and Norway with the tracked FFG Armoured Combat Support Vehicle.

Spain has recently announced it will start replacing part of its M113 fleet with 394 vehicles based on the ASCOD tracked platform which has been manufactured in the infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) role as the Pizarro by GDELS – Santa Barbara Sistemas.

The US Army is currently fielding five versions of the AMPV – the M1283 General Purpose, M1284 Medical Evacuation (shown at DSEI), M1285 Medical Treatment, M1286 Mission Command and M1287 Mortar Carrier.

According to Bill Sheehy, AMPV programme director at BAE Systems: 'The AMPV has gone through some 37,000 miles of reliability trials and over 37 live fire tests plus trials in Alaska and the tropics.'

In addition to the five versions in production for the US Army BAE Systems to looking for further expand the roles that the AMPV can undertake and these including installation of a Patria NEMO 120mm turret-mounted mortar and the Moog Reconfigurable Weapon Platform (RIWP) which can be armed with a 30mm cannon plus anti-tank guided weapons and/or surface-to-air missile systems. These are expected to be shown for the first time later in 2023.

When compared to the M113 the AMPV has not only more volume and payload but also greater mobility and protection. In addition to its welded aluminium armour hull it has appliqué and explosive reactive armour protection.

The M1285 and M1286 have a higher roof line for their specialised battlefield mission and armament consists of a protected weapon station armed with a 12.7mm M2 HB machine gun (MG).

The AMPV has been in Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) but on 1 September BAE was awarded a $797 million contract to start Full Rate Production which with options could bring the total of $1.6 billion.

Shephard's DSEI 2023 coverage is sponsored by: