BAE SYSTEMS AMPV PROTOTYPE SUCCESSFULLY FIRES C-UAS DURING LIVE DEMONSTRATION

BAE Systems successfully tested its Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle (AMPV) Counter-Unmanned Aircraft System (C-UAS) prototype during a recent live fire demonstration.

In various realistic battlefield scenarios at the Big Sandy range in Kingman, Arizona, the AMPV C-UAS prototype demonstrated the ability to accurately detect, track, identify, and defeat or disable stationary and moving aerial and ground targets. The exercise displayed the turret engaging with ground targets and utilizing a slew-to-cue capability to target both stationary and moving small drones with 30mm proximity rounds.

The versatile prototype, which was showcased at the Association of the United States Army Annual Meeting & Exposition in October, was designed with the same proven chassis as the existing variants in the family of vehicles (FoV), but also posesses the key enhancements of BAE Systems’ External Mission Equipment Package (ExMEP) top plate. ExMEP demonstrates real options for rapid integration of future technologies and capabilities onto the AMPV. The integration of the U.S. Army’s already validated Maneuver-Short Range Air Defense (M-SHORAD) turret is one example of the more than 30 turret systems ExMEP is capable of adapting at a swift pace.

The ExMEP on the AMPV C-UAS prototype is configured with the Moog Reconfigurable Integrated-weapons Platform (RIwP^®) turret.

Moog’s scope of supply and integration for the C-UAS weapon system also includes Leonardo DRS’ Multi-Mission Hemispheric Radars (MHR), associated C2 systems, and Northrop Grumman’s XM914 30mm cannon—all of which are also common to the M-SHORAD system.

The AMPV program was awarded a full-rate production contract for five different variants in 2023 and is actively fielding the FoV to Armored Brigade Combat Team (ABCT) units. As the underpinning of the future for the Army and its allies, the AMPV provides significant improvements in power, mobility, interoperability, and survivability for Soldiers.