BAE Systems showcased two Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle (AMPV) prototypes at AUSA 2024: one equipped with a turret and the other with a mortar system.
These were the fifth in the series of BAE AMPV prototypes, with one vehicle integrating a 30mm Kongsberg Medium Caliber Turret.
As a compact and lightweight remote turret system, the US Marine Corps selected the Kongsberg system for deployment on the 30mm variant of their Amphibious Combat Vehicle.
Meanwhile, the other prototype is equipped with the Modular Turreted Mortar System (MTMS), which completed US Army evaluations at the Yuma Test Center.
The US Army first received the MTMS prototype in January this year and had it undergo field evaluations.
On September 10, the MTMS successfully completed a live fire demonstration at the Maneuver Warfighter Conference in Fort Moore, Georgia.
Seamless integration of these capabilities was made possible by the vehicle’s common top plate, which can accommodate over 30 different turret systems.
The AMPV is future-proof, as the firm “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,” BAE Systems AMPV program director Bill Sheehy explained.
“Like its predecessor, AMPVs will be everywhere in the formation.”
Common Top Plate
“Our goal with the AMPV common top plate has remained the same since day one,” Sheehy said.
“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,” he added.
In addition, the AMPV hull allows a wide range of options for future upgrades and adapting to operational needs.
Last year, a counter-drone turret, an unmanned 30mm turret, and a medium caliber 30mm weapon system were all configured into the AMPV using the same common top plate.
The defense manufacturer is close to completing its AMPV production line expansion in York, Pennsylvania, to meet operational needs, especially after the US Army’s recent procurement of 48 additional AMPVs.