US Army getting its first Armoured Multipurpose Vehicle this Dec.

Thanks to Jonathan for the link!

via Shepard Media.

The US Army is on schedule to receive its first Armoured Multipurpose Vehicle (AMPV) prototype from manufacturer BAE Systems this December, company officials have said.
It will be the first of 29 prototypes that will be delivered to the army as part of a 52-month-long engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) contract, awarded in December 2014.
According to James Miller, business development director at BAE Systems Combat Vehicles, six vehicles are currently going through the production line at the company’s York, Pennsylvania, facility.
‘The first one is starting the final assembly,’ said Miller. ‘We are going to deliver our first vehicle in December, so we are on schedule.’
BAE Systems will manufacture all five variants of the AMPV as part of the initial delivery of 29 prototypes. These variants include mission command, medical treatment, medical evacuation (MEDEVAC), general purpose and mortar carrier.

The project has already achieved several important milestones including its preliminary design review and critical design review, the latter occurring earlier this summer.

Miller said one design change to the vehicle has been to increase the height of the vehicle, in order to increase space and survivability for the soldiers in the back. That has increased the weight, but it remains within the weight limits set by the army.

And although initially described as a ‘turret-less Bradley’, the AMPV does not share the same hull as the Bradley M2 owing to the survivability requirements from the army.

Wow.  How and when did the Army pull this one on us?  I remember this being called a turretless Bradley and there was no pushback.  Now we hear that they've snuck and gotten an upgraded hull?

It seems that the Army is playing the procurement game to the "t".  How long before they slap a turret on these vehicles and talk about how its more survivable than the Bradley and how they're saving the taxpayers money by not having to develop an entirely new vehicle for an interim replacement?

McMasters and company are playing chess while the Congress is clueless.