The Armoured Multi Purpose Vehicle (AMPV) is a well-protected light armoured 4×4 vehicle that has been developed as a

joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acce ...

between Germany's

Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicles Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicles GmbH (RMMV) is a joint venture company between German companies MAN Truck & Bus AG and Rheinmetall AG. RMMV is part of Rheinmetall's Vehicle Systems Division. Rheinmetall AG holds a 51% stake in RMMV, with the r ...

(RMMV) and

Krauss-Maffei Wegmann Krauss-Maffei Wegmann GmbH & Co. KG (KMW) is an arms industry company based in Munich, Germany. The company produces various types of equipment as well as rail locomotives, tanks, self-propelled artillery, and other armoured vehicles. KMW was ...

(KMW). It was developed for the German Army's Protected Command and Function (GFF) Group 2 requirement. The overall design of the AMPV has moved forward from the Cold War thinking of previous generation wheeled armoured vehicles, and throughout it has been optimised for current

asymmetric conflict Asymmetric warfare (or asymmetric engagement) is the term given to describe a type of war between belligerents whose relative military power, strategy or tactics differ significantly. This is typically a war between a standing, professional ar ...

operations. According to the manufacturer, right from the outset, purely military requirements dictated AMPV's design. In the process, the development team took systematic account of experience gained during the ISAF mission in Afghanistan and other operations worldwide. As a result, the AMPV is now the best-protected vehicle in its class anywhere.

History

Development of the AMPV began in 2007, and a full-scale

mockup In manufacturing and design, a mockup, or mock-up, is a scale or full-size model of a design or device, used for teaching, demonstration, design evaluation, promotion, and other purposes. A mockup may be a '' prototype'' if it provides at lea ...

was shown for the first time at

Eurosatory Eurosatory is the largest international defence and security exhibition for land and airland that is held every two years in the Paris-Nord Villepinte Exhibition Centre, Paris, France. In 2022, it gathered over 1,700 exhibitors and over 62,000 vis ...

2008. The first fully functional prototype was shown for the first time in 2009. The German Army purchased the AMPV for extensive trials, these completed late in 2011. The AMPV was conceived as a family of vehicles that would meet a wide range of user requirements, and have gross vehicle weight ratings (

GVWR Vehicle weight is a measurement of wheeled motor vehicles; either an actual measured weight of the vehicle under defined conditions or a gross weight rating for its weight carrying capacity. Curb or kerb weight Curb weight (U.S. English) or kerb ...

) of between 5.3-tonnes (Type 1a & 1b) and 9.2-tonnes (Type 2a & 2b). Since conception, requirements have evolved and only Type 2 variants have been built, these now having a maximum permissible GVWR of 10.1-tonnes. The AMPV has been demonstrated overseas and during 2010 an example underwent a series of high

altitude Altitude or height (also sometimes known as depth) is a distance measurement, usually in the vertical or "up" direction, between a reference datum and a point or object. The exact definition and reference datum varies according to the context ...

trials in

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the eas ...

. These included 2800 km at heights up to 4800 m above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardise ...

. By 2015 the AMPV had completed approaching 30,000 test km in all conditions. An AMPV optimised for

special forces Special forces and special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...

use was demonstrated in Poland during September 2015, this targeted at Poland's Pegaz project for special forces vehicles. This example featured a remotely operated weapon station made by Polish defence contractor Tarnow, armed with a

heavy machine gun A heavy machine gun (HMG) is significantly larger than light, medium or general-purpose machine guns. HMGs are typically too heavy to be man-portable (carried by one person) and require mounting onto a weapons platform to be operably stable o ...

Description

The AMPV was designed by RMMV and KMW, with body styling by

Porsche Design Studio Porsche Design is a German product design studio and brand founded in 1972 by F. A. Porsche, the designer of the original Porsche 911, known for its high-end accessories including sunglasses, pens, and watches. The current legal instantiation of t ...

. Unlike many vehicles of similar size/capacity, the AMPV is not based on a commercial

chassis A chassis (, ; plural ''chassis'' from French châssis ) is the load-bearing framework of an artificial object, which structurally supports the object in its construction and function. An example of a chassis is a vehicle frame, the underpa ...

, but has been designed and built specifically to meet military requirements. The design of the AMPV is based around a central armoured crew cell/citadel, this having a multi-layered floor for enhanced mine blast protection. The self-supporting armoured steel citadel accepts add-on passive

composite armour Composite armour is a type of vehicle armour consisting of layers of different material such as metals, plastics, ceramics or air. Most composite armours are lighter than their all-metal equivalent, but instead occupy a larger volume for the ...

modules which can be changed as new

armour Armour (British English British English (BrE, en-GB, or BE) is, according to Lexico, Oxford Dictionaries, "English language, English as used in Great Britain, as distinct from that used elsewhere". More narrowly, it can refer specificall ...

technology evolves or the threat level changes. Crew survivability is enhanced by the installation of de-coupled seats. During trials, instrumented dummy crew members survived the blast from a 100 kg

improvised explosive device An improvised explosive device (IED) is a bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional military action. It may be constructed of conventional military explosives, such as an artillery shell, attached to a detonating mecha ...

(IED) that was exploded five metres from the AMPV citadel. AMPV also features built-in impact protection. The AMPV also features air-conditioning and a full

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters ...

filtration and over-pressure system. The front power pack and rear cargo area are not protected and mount to sub-frames, the AMPV not having a conventional chassis. The rear cargo area can be configured to suit user requirements and features 2220 litres of usable stowage space. AMPV can tow a trailer of up to 3500 kg in weight. Motive power is provided by a Steyr Motors M16 SCI

diesel Diesel may refer to: * Diesel engine, an internal combustion engine where ignition is caused by compression * Diesel fuel, a liquid fuel used in diesel engines * Diesel locomotive, a railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine ...

engine An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power ...

that has the ability to operate for extended periods on high sulphur, low quality and military-specific fuels such as F34/JP-8. Twin 150A

alternators An alternator is an electrical generator that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy in the form of alternating current. For reasons of cost and simplicity, most alternators use a rotating magnetic field with a stationary armature.Gord ...

provide electrical power for engine and associated systems, radios/communications equipment, and ancillaries such a

remote weapon station A remote controlled weapon station (RCWS), or remote weapon station (RWS), also known as a remote weapon system (RWS), is a remotely operated weaponized system often equipped with fire-control system for light and medium-caliber weapons which can ...

. The optional remote weapon station can be fitted with a machine gun (up to 12.7 mm) or a 40 mm automatic grenade launcher. A protected ringmount with similar armament options can also be fitted. If necessary, the protection level can be enhanced still further by integrating additional assemblies. These include Rheinmetall's Acoustic Sniper Localisation System (ASLS) and Situational Awareness System (SAS), assuring 360° monitoring of the vehicle's surroundings. Rheinmetall's Rapid Obscurant System (ROSY) system for generating a smoke screen is an option. Unlike conventional smoke/obscurant systems, ROSY creates an instantaneous, extensive, multispectral interruption of the line of sight, including a dynamic wall of smoke/obscurant that provides moving objects with sustained protection and concealment. The under-development Active Protective System (APS) will be a further option.

Gearbox Propulsion transmission is the mode of transmitting and controlling propulsion power of a machine. The term ''transmission'' properly refers to the whole drivetrain, including clutch, gearbox, prop shaft (for rear-wheel drive vehicles), diffe ...

is a fully

automatic Automatic may refer to: Music Bands * Automatic (band), Australian rock band * Automatic (American band), American rock band * The Automatic, a Welsh alternative rock band Albums * ''Automatic'' (Jack Bruce album), a 1983 electronic rock ...

ZF unit, this coupled to a two-speed

transfer case A transfer case is a part of the drivetrain of four-wheel-drive, all-wheel-drive, and other multiple powered axle vehicles. The transfer case transfers power from the transmission to the front and rear axles by means of drive shafts. It also s ...

. The planetary hub-reduction drive

axle An axle or axletree is a central shaft for a rotating wheel or gear. On wheeled vehicles, the axle may be fixed to the wheels, rotating with them, or fixed to the vehicle, with the wheels rotating around the axle. In the former case, beari ...

s have disc brakes and feature a central tire inflation system (CTIS) and

anti-lock brakes An anti-lock braking system (ABS) is a safety anti- skid braking system used on aircraft and on land vehicles, such as cars, motorcycles, trucks, and buses. ABS operates by preventing the wheels from locking up during braking, thereby maintaini ...

(ABS). Tyres are 385/80R 20, wheels featuring runflat inserts as standard.

Suspension Suspension or suspended may refer to: Science and engineering * Suspension (topology), in mathematics * Suspension (dynamical systems), in mathematics * Suspension of a ring, in mathematics * Suspension (chemistry), small solid particles suspen ...

is fully independent, each wheel featuring twin coil-over shock-absorbers supplemented by hydraulic bump stops. Suspension stroke is up to +/-150mm. The drivetrain features Steyr's Automatic Drivetrain Management (ADM). ADM automatically controls and monitors longitudinal and cross-axle differential locks, thereby reducing strain on the driver, with full drivetrain lock-up possible for maximum traction. RMMV literature states ADM offers advantages that include shorter driver training, longer service and maintenance intervals, prevention of damage by driver error or mistake, and longer tyre life. Performance capabilities include the ability to climb >70%

grade Grade most commonly refers to: * Grade (education), a measurement of a student's performance * Grade, the number of the year a student has reached in a given educational stage * Grade (slope), the steepness of a slope Grade or grading may also r ...

, traverse >40% sideslope, surmount a 400mm vertical step, cross a 750 mm wide ditch, and ford 850 mm of water without preparation. Ground clearance is 350 mm, and turning circle is 15 m. AMPV is able to operate at temperatures ranging from -46 °C to +55 °C. Options can include a fire suppression system, a 360 degree camera system, a

GPS The Global Positioning System (GPS), originally Navstar GPS, is a satellite-based radionavigation system owned by the United States government and operated by the United States Space Force. It is one of the global navigation satellite sy ...

system, and a front- or rear-mounting self-recovery

winch A winch is a mechanical device that is used to pull in (wind up) or let out (wind out) or otherwise adjust the tension of a rope or wire rope (also called "cable" or "wire cable"). In its simplest form, it consists of a spool (or drum) attac ...

. The AMPV can be transported by standard rail cars, or in the air by

C-130 Hercules The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally des ...

aircraft or as an underslung load by Boeing CH-47 Chinook helicopter.

Gallery

File:AMPV.jpg, As displayed at Eurosatory 2016, AMPV fitted with a Vinghøg manned ringmount. File:AMPV 1 wiki.JPG, AMPV at speed during a mobility demonstration File:AMPV 2 wiki.jpg, AMPV at speed during a mobility demonstration File:AMPV 3 wiki.jpg, AMPV optimised for special forces role. The rear stowage compartment has been enlarged to meet specific Polish requirements

References

Bibliography

* AMPV Type 2A military brochure (KMW/RMMV) (2010) * Jane's Armour & Artillery 2011/2012
Jane’s Land Warfare Platforms: Armoured Fighting Vehicles
* Jane's Armour & Artillery 2009/2010

* AMPV 4x4 White Paper (KMW/RMMV) (Industry presentation 2015)

External links