In a recent live-fire field test, BAE Systems' Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle (AMPV) Counter-UAS System (C-UAS) prototype used the Moog Modular Weapon System to down a small squadron of quadcopter drones in stunning fashion.
When BAE Systems delivers the first AMPV to the U.S. Army in 2020, it will do more than provide a replacement for the Cold War-era M113 fighting vehicle. It also introduces the Modular Armored Vehicle System, which allows the Army to quickly modify AMPVs to suit a variety of roles, from personnel transport vehicles to mobile operating rooms. One of the tasks is to deal with small ground targets and drones.
The exercise included practical scenarios at Big Sandy Range in Kingman, Arizona, with the AMPVC-UAS prototype equipped with BAE Systems' External Mission Equipment Package (ExMEP) top plate to handle 30 different interchangeable turrets. Mounted on the top panel is Moog's Reconfigurable Integrated Weapons Platform (RIwP), a modular weapons system that is part of the Army's Mobile-Short-Range Air Defense (M-SHORAD) turret.
Once assembled, the AMPVC-UAS can carry a Leonardo DRS multi-mission hemispheric radar (MHR) for 360-degree coverage, a camera and sensor package, associated command and control systems, Stinger missiles, a machine gun and a Northrop Grumman XM91 40mm cannon. However, this is just one of many possible configurations including multi-mission, anti-armor attack and air defense.
During the tests, the aircraft was tasked with accurately detecting, tracking and identifying stationary and moving air and ground targets and then destroying or disabling them. It uses the turret's slew cue function to let sensors tell the camera which direction to point, then engages the target with a 30mm approach bomb, shooting down the drone with a satisfying "bang".
"From the earliest operational capability concept stages of the AMPV program, we intentionally designed a modular, flexible configuration to provide the warfighter with an adaptable, ready-to-evolve platform," said Bill Sheehy, AMPV program director at BAE Systems. "In just over a year, our successful collaboration with Moog on the C-UAS prototype demonstrates the art of rapid response from an industry-leading supplier. This is just the beginning of setting the tone for future integration of AMPV to higher standards and faster speeds for the warfighter." "
The video below shows APVC-UAS in action.