United States Launches Full Production of AMPV Armored Personnel Carriers

1 February, 2025 An AMPV armored personnel carrier during the ceremonial handover to the 1st Armored Brigade of the 3rd Infantry Division, March 23, 2013. Photo credits: Dan Heaton. The American defense company BAE Systems has started full production of AMPV armored personnel carriers for the US Army.

This is reported by the Defense Blog. The production of armored personnel carriers was delayed due to certain problems during testing, in particular, one of the most critical vulnerabilities identified during live fire testing concerned the automatic fire extinguishing system (AFES). Although the production of the armored personnel carriers began in July 2023, the company is now aiming to reach full production to meet the US Army's needs for new and mass-produced armored vehicles.

An AMPV prototype during field testing at Fort Hood, Texas, 2018.

Photo credits: US Army

The new AMPVs are expected to replace the old M113s in the army, as well as the vehicles on their base. Despite some rumors, the AMPV production is taking place on newly built hulls, and spare Bradley infantry fighting vehicles are not used for this purpose. Militarny recently reported that the United States had ordered a large batch of new AMPVs to replace the M113s that had been transferred to Ukraine.

The US Army is seeking an additional contract with BAE Systems for the purchase of 309 additional AMPVs. The new armored personnel carriers will be ordered for fiscal years 2025, 2026, and 2027 with an increase in production from 81 vehicles in 2025 to 122 in 2026 and 2027.

An American AMPV-based self-propelled mortar with a NEMO turret. Photo credits: BAE Systems.

The US Army has placed a £754 million order with BAE Systems for the second phase of mass production of AMPV tracked armored vehicles.

The second phase is scheduled to begin in 2026 and end in 2027. The exact number and variants of the vehicles to be ordered under the second production phase have not been disclosed. In total, the U.S.

Army is seeking 2907 armored personnel carriers, including 522 M1283 vehicles in the armored personnel carrier version.

In addition, 790 M1284s will be ordered for medical evacuation, 216 M1285s for medical assistance, 993 M1286s as command vehicles, and 386 M1287s as self-propelled mortars.

These armored vehicles are being manufactured at BAE Systems' facility in York, Pennsylvania.