AMPV C-UAS, the new combat vehicle of BAE Systems and Moog to shoot down drones

@DefAviation ES 1·24·2024 · 21:46 0

As is being seen in the Russian invasion of Ukraine, drones have become a very serious threat to armored forces.

Flakpanzer Gepard, the German vehicle that fights against Russian drones in Ukraine
Ukrainian HIMARS missile launchers destroy the S-400, the best Russian air defense system

Various weapons systems have been appearing for some time to combat this threat. Yesterday BAE Systems and Moog presented an armored vehicle to shoot down drones on the battlefield: the AMPV C-UAS, publishing a video that shows testing carried out with its prototype at the Big Sandy firing range in Kingman, Arizona:

Next-generation #CombatInnovations like the AMPV C-UAS are transforming the future of battle for Soldiers. Don’t miss the latest #news on #AMPV: https://t.co/4AyuoumGLT. pic.twitter.com/1nTh16Blih

— BAE Systems, Inc. (@BAESystemsInc) January 23, 2024

BAE Systems has noted that "the AMPV C-UAS prototype demonstrated the ability to accurately detect, track, identify, and defeat or disable stationary and moving aerial and ground targets. The exercise displayed the turret engaging with ground targets and utilizing a slew-to-cue capability to target both stationary and moving small drones with 30mm proximity rounds."

The C-UAS is based on the AMPV (armored multi-purpose vehicle) chassis, which has been chosen by the US Army to replace its fleet of aging M-113 armored vehicles. The AMPV is basically a turretless version of the Bradley infantry fighting vehicle, with different variants: M1283 general purpose, M1284 medical evacuation, M1286 command, M1287 mortar carrier and M1285 medical treatment. In May last year, BAE Systems published this video showing the AMPV program:

The C-UAS variant of the AMPV presented yesterday carries a Leonardo DRS Maneuver Short Range Air Defense (M-SHORAD) turret, which includes a 30 mm XM914 cannon, a 7 mm M240 machine gun .62 mm and eight Stinger short-range surface-to-air missile launchers, in two mounts of four launchers each.

The C-UAS detection system includes four Multmission Hemispheric Radars (MHR) by Leonardo DRS (below these lines), an AESA 4D pulse Doppler radar. It is a solid-state, non-rotating radar, with 120º azimuth coverage for each radar and electronic countermeasures (ECCM) capabilities, in order to avoid electronic interference.

The video published yesterday by BAE Systems shows not only the anti-aircraft capabilities of the C-UAS, but also its capabilities against ground targets, allowing multiple combat uses for the same vehicle in different environments. The C-UAS could serve to occupy the segment of vehicles such as the already veteran Flakpanzer Gepard, a short-range anti-aircraft system that is being used quite successfully by Ukraine to shoot down drones and missiles.

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Photos: BAE Systems.