The U.S. initiative, which includes an investment of $250 million for the purchase of 50 Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicles (AMPV), aims to restore capabilities within the U.S. Army’s Armored Brigade Combat Teams. These new vehicles will partially replace the tracked M113 armored vehicles transferred to Ukraine since 2022, which have been used for rear-area duties, casualty evacuation, and personnel transport.
According to the reconciliation spending plan recently submitted by the Pentagon to Congress, the U.S. Army expects to award the contract before April. The funds are intended to “replenish M113 armored personnel carriers provided to Ukraine under Presidential Drawdown Authority,” as stated in official documents.
The AMPV, manufactured by BAE Systems, was designed to replace the M113 family of vehicles within the Army’s Armored Brigade Combat Teams. Since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the United States has transferred at least 900 M113 units to Ukrainian forces, according to a Pentagon fact sheet published in January 2025, which accelerated plans to recapitalize the fleet.
Originally, lawmakers had allocated the $250 million for the purchase of 38 additional AMPV units. However, a reduction in the unit cost made it possible to increase the number to 50 vehicles. “BAE was able to find efficiencies and deliver them at a lower price,” a congressional source indicated, explaining the addition of 12 units beyond the initial plan.
Despite this push to replenish vehicles, the AMPV program also faced budget cuts in the fiscal year 2026 appropriations bill. Congressional appropriators cut $126 million, attributing the decision to the Army Transformation Initiative, and removed an additional $13 million on the grounds that there was “funding ahead of need,” reducing the planned procurement from 86 to 60 units for that period.
The replacement of the M113s is part of a broader modernization strategy. In March 2023, the Army awarded BAE Systems a $245 million contract to replace 200 M113s sent to Ukraine, solidifying the AMPV as the centerpiece of the armored mobility renewal program. Work is being carried out at the company’s facilities in York, Pennsylvania, in coordination with the Army Contracting Command in Detroit, Michigan.
The decision to deepen the acquisition of AMPVs comes after years of adjustments and expansions to the program. In October 2024, the Army granted BAE Systems a contract modification for the purchase of 48 additional units and authorized the start of full-rate production, following delays linked to the COVID-19 pandemic and the extension of the testing campaign. The program envisions a goal of up to 3,000 vehicles in various configurations—General Purpose, Mortar Carrier, Medical Evacuation, Medical Treatment, and Mission Command—with the aim of gradually replacing the M113s, whose original introduction dates back to the Vietnam War era.
*Images for illustrative purposes
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