WASHINGTON: After 53 years in service, the Army’s M113 armored transport might finally get replaced. Last night, the Michigan-based Tank-Automotive Command (TACOM) issued a draft Request For Proposals for a new Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle. The final RFP is expected in June and the contract award in mid-2014. Variants of the General Dynamics Stryker and the…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.Army issues draft RFP for Armored Multipurpose Vehicle (AMPV): http://http://contracting.tacom.army.mil/majorsys/ampv/RFPwebpage.htm @SydneyFreedberg
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.WASHINGTON: A $140 million congressional plus-up to the Army’s Bradley fighting vehicle program has made it past every legislative hurdle into the spending bill now headed for the Senate floor. But with amendments and House-Senate conference still to go, and with the Army still (at least officially) unenthused about the unrequested funds, Bradley manufacturer BAE…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.AUSA: BAE has had plenty on its plate lately, what with the failed merger with EADS and all. But at least BAE’s American division was the odds-on favorite for the Army’s Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle (AMPV). That is, at least until last week. That’s when rival General Dynamics debuted a tracked version of its 8×8 wheeled…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.WASHINGTON: On the margins of the $550-plus billion defense budget, the Army and the defense industry are quietly working on a program that could potentially replace 3,000 geriatric armored vehicles. So far, in this year’s budget, Congress is going along, but the real money — and the real battle — loom in the years to…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.FT. LAUDERDALE: The Army’s sizable combat vehicle fleet will remain largely intact despite ongoing efforts inside the Pentagon to reshape the service into a post-Afghanistan force. While the Army may not be able to buy the amount of new vehicles or modernize the number of legacy systems it wants, the service’s overall combat vehicle strategy…
By Carlo Munoz