BAE Systems May 28 said it submitted its bid for the Army’s Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle (AMPV) program to replace the aging M113 with a vehicle that would be safer and more survivable for soldiers.
Potential bidder General Dynamics [GD] passed after declining to pursue the issue in federal court. Navistar Defense, which had expressed some interest, also passed.
The Army now plans a decision on the program in 2015. The potential multi-billion priority program for the land force–along with the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle–could replace some 2,900 M113 vehicles in the heavy brigades.
“Today’s (sic) submission is the culmination of more than 15 years of concept development and validation and two years of internal development and responses to the Army to fill a critical capability gap for our soldiers,” said Mark Signorelli, vice president and general manager of Combat Vehicles at BAE. “Our AMPV proposal provides an affordable low risk solution that is ready now and meets the Army’s survivability, force protection, and mobility requirements.”
In a company statement yesterday, General Dynamics said it did not submit a proposal for the AMPV program.
“The requirements and other provisions of the request for proposals (RFP) do not allow the company to provide a competitive solution.”
In an April 4 decision, Army Materiel Command denied a General Dynamics protest of the acquisition strategy for the AMPV program (
General Dynamics sees a split buy of the tracked Bradleys, produced by BAE, and the wheeled Strykers, produced by GD, as the basis for a solution to its concerns while answering the government’s requirements.
A number of House members also support this position (Defense Daily, April 4). Both BAE and General Dynamics, as well as the Army, have competing position papers circulating on the Hill as defense authorization and appropriations bills inch toward resolution.
In an e-mail response, Navistar said it would not submit a bid for the program.
Photo: BAE Systems
BAE bases its AMPV proposal on the proven Bradley and Paladin Integrated Management designs, meeting the Army’s force protection and all-terrain mobility requirements, enabling the AMPV to maneuver with the rest of the Armored Brigade Combat Team (ABCT).
The company maximized commonality within the AMPV family of vehicles and the ABCT to reduce risk and provide significant lifecycle cost savings to the Army.
“BAE Systems built and demonstrated prototypes for each of the five variants in order to provide the best solution for the Army,” said Greg Mole, AMPV capture director at BAE. “Given the maturity of our design and the commonality both within the AMPV and ABCT fleets, we feel this offers significant opportunity to accelerate the program’s schedule.”
The BAE AMPV team includes DRS Technologies, responsible for power management, distribution, and integration; Northrop Grumman [NOC], responsible for Mission Command Mission Equipment Package design and integration; Air Methods Corporation, responsible for the design and integration of medical evacuation and treatment subsystems; and Red River Army Depot, responsible for vehicle teardown and component remanufacture. The company’s offering includes proven powertrain and drivetrain components from Cummins, L-3 Communications [LLL], and LOC Performance that supports the ABCT industrial base.
The Army terminated the Vietnam-era M113 program in 2007 and has been working with industry for more than two years to maximize competition for the vehicle’s replacement. The service plans to award an initial contract for the 52-month engineering and manufacturing development phase in January 2015 with prototype delivery 24 months after contract award.