BAE Systems has confirmed delivered all of the AMPVs built under the Engineering and Manufacturing Design (EMD) phase to the U.S. Army to begin the testing phase of the program.

According to the company, BAE Systems was awarded a contract worth up to $1.2 billion from the Army in December 2014 for EMD and Low-Rate Initial Production (LRIP) phases of the AMPV program. The initial award of $383 million under the EMD phase was for the development and production of vehicles across all of the variants: general purpose, mission command, mortar carrier, medical evacuation, and medical treatment.

“The AMPV is essential to the future of the Armored Brigade Combat Team,” said Bill Sheehy, AMPV program director for BAE Systems. “Delivering all EMD vehicles to the Army is a proud moment for us – it means we’re another step closer to delivering the next generation of power, mobility, and survivability to our Soldiers in our combat formations.”

BAE Systems’ five variant AMPV is a fully modern, highly flexible vehicle designed to replace the Vietnam War-era M113 family of vehicles. It is a mature, cost-effective solution that leverages proven designs from the Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle, a key component of the ACBT, and the M109A7 Self-Propelled Howitzer. It meets the Army’s force protection and all-terrain mobility requirements, enabling the AMPV to maneuver with the rest of the ABCT. Maximizing commonality within the ABCT reduces developmental risk and streamlines maintenance, providing significant cost savings to the Army.

More: BAE systems developed engineering version of Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle

The goal is to deliver the best capability possible to the Army in order to assist the ABCT in maintaining combat overmatch anywhere in the world, under any conditions at all times, Sheehy said. The process to deliver the best capability is iterative.

More: BAE Systems rolls out first Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle

“The next phase of testing will help us to better understand the soldier/machine relationship and identify areas we can improve upon,” Sheehy said. “Delivering the best AMPV will not end with formal testing but continue as we field the vehicles throughout the Army and we learn new things about performance and the Soldiers expectations.