BAE Systems has teamed up with Forterra to develop a new autonomous Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle (AMPV) prototype that has been fast tracked for live demonstrations next year as part of a program to enhance the US Army’s Armored Brigade Combat Team.
The AMPV program was launched in 2020 to replace the Cold War–era M113 Family of Vehicles (FoV). Though the M113 served for half a century, it was slated for retirement due to shortcomings in survivability, force protection, mobility, and reliability. It also lacked the ability to integrate advanced Size, Weight, Power, and Cooling (SWaP-C) capabilities, and could not operate effectively alongside the M1 Abrams Main Battle Tank or the M2 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle.
Available in five variants, the AMPV is designed as a general purpose, multi-mission vehicle that can be used for general duty, medical evacuation, medical treatment, mission command, and as a mortar platform. Now, the agreement with Forterra aims at turning the AMPV into a self-driving autonomous vehicle that can be deployed quickly and take on new mission sets.
Forterra, formerly known as Robotic Research, is providing its autonomous systems that will be installed in the AMPV, allowing it to drive itself in hostile areas where GPS is jammed or spoofed, and in low-visibility conditions. This will become part of BAE’s AMPV Capability Kit Series that will give the vehicle new technologies, including Counter-Uncrewed Aerial Systems (C-UAS), ground autonomy, and unmanned turrets.
Aside from improved capabilities, this is an example of how Western nations are gearing up for much faster defense production and system upgrade cycles. According to analysts, the problem with NATO defense capabilities isn’t technology, but the speed of development and production. As a result, BAE Systems is among the companies working to field assets faster by placing greater emphasis on modular designs. This is particularly important for BAE because it’s contracted to provide the Army with 3,000 AMPVs to replace 30% of brigade-level tracked vehicles.
“This partnership isn’t about buzzwords – it’s about rolling up our sleeves and presenting tangible options that empower the Army to maintain its dominance on any battlefield against any current or emerging threat,” said Bill Sheehy, Ground Maneuver product line director for BAE Systems. “Bringing together two of the best in both worlds—to include combat vehicle production and autonomous technology development—means we can move faster, think bigger, and give Soldiers the edge they deserve.”
Source: BAE Systems
