YUMA PROVING GROUND, Arizona – The M113 armored personnel carrier and its variants are iconic vehicles in mechanized infantry history.
First used in 1962, the M113 was ubiquitous during the conflict in Vietnam, and was used in virtually every American military operation in the decades that followed.
Although the Bradley Fighting Vehicle was far surpassed both in use and in operation, variants of the M113 are still in use today.
That said, the M113 was built for a different generation of warfare, and the recently developed Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle (AMPV) comes with a long list of upgrades that make it significantly more advanced than its predecessor.
The five variants of the AMPV – a multi-purpose vehicle, a mission command vehicle, a mortar carrier and a medical evacuation and medical treatment vehicle – have almost 80% more interior volume than the M113 and significantly more power, survivability and maneuverability. The cooling and electrical systems are also much more robust in order to enable both existing and future upgrades. It shares the same powertrain and suspension system as the Bradley and M109A7 self-propelled howitzers, easing the maintenance and logistics challenges for all three vehicles in the field.
Several AMPVs are currently undergoing reliability, availability, and maintainability (RAM) tests at YPG, with each traveling mile-long simulated missions on roads with different terrain conditions, from paved to gravel to tougher desert washboards that would rattle less robust vehicles. As they progress through these courses, test vehicle drivers continually review the performance of all of the platform’s sophisticated electronics. Previous tests have demonstrated the vehicle’s braking, acceleration and steering behavior on inclines and steep inclines and even through a wading basin and on a layer of dust that has been processed for maximum sediment. At various points during the tests, samples of the vehicle fluids are collected and analyzed.
“We monitor these for wear and tear,” said Erick Hurtado, test team leader. “It gives us an insight into what is going on internally in the vehicle.”
In addition to the hundreds of miles of road courses, YPG has the range to conduct live fire tests of the vehicle from both stationary and moving positions, and uses that ability as part of the AMPV tests to test the 7.62mm and 12, 7 inches of the vehicle mm machine guns.
“Every now and then there is a recurring fire mission inside the RAM,” said Hurtado. “We’ll pause the accumulation of RAM miles, go to a gun position and fire a set number of rounds, then return to the regular RAM mission.”
Soldier operational testing of the AMPV is slated to begin next year, so YPG’s Combat Automotive testers and support staff are working hard to keep the schedule on track. At the same time, the testers plan deployment profiles and prepare street courses for further tests in other YPG test centers.
“It’s a huge undertaking,” said Hurtado. “Every test officer has a role – this is how we can make it work. The experienced test officers of the program know their mission and their tasks. ”
| Recording date: | 07/23/2021 |
| Release Date: | 07/23/2021 00:10 |
| Story ID: | 401538 |
| Location: | YUMA PROVING BODEN, AZ, USA |
| Web views: | 95 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
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