Archive: January 2, 2023

First unit fielding Army hypersonic missile in 2023

The Army is planning two additional tests of its hypersonic missile before fielding it to the first unit at by late 2023.

The Navy is a co-developer of the missile with the Army and the next step will mark the first time the Army and Navy together launch the full missile using the ground support equipment. Lt. Gen. Robert Rasch, head of the service’s Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office, did not disclose the timing of the tests due to security reasons, originally reported by Army Times sister publication Defense News

The two final test flights follow more than a decade of developing and testing missile capabilities by the service. One of the earliest test flights took place in 2010, only for the project to be paused by the service. The Army reopened work on the missile program five years ago at the start of a major modernization push.

Each of the two services has worked to develop a part of the missile. The Army has developed the common hypersonic glide body, while the Navy developed a two-stage hypersonic missile booster stack. The previous tests have yielded mixed results.

In early 2020, the hypersonic missile test at the Pacific Missile Range Facility in Hawaii was a success, officials said. But the missile’s booster stack failed in another test in late 2021. In June 2022, the stack completed a successful test flight.

Troop carrier replacement production ramping up

To retire the aging M113 armored troop carriers, the Army and BAE Systems are working to accelerate the new Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle production.

Efforts to increase production come as the United States continues to supply weapons to Ukraine.

The Pentagon has sent several of the current M113s to Ukraine. As of October, the department had pledged 200 vehicles to Ukraine since Russia invaded. The M113s came from the Army National Guard, Maj. Gen. Glenn Dean, program executive officer for ground combat systems, said.

Congress has already provided some funding to replace the M113s with AMPVs, according to Dean. The service is working with BAE to increase its rate of production, originally reported by Army Times sister publication Defense News

Moves to quicken production may surprise some, considering the service originally sought to slow rate of AMPV acquisitions over its five-year plan between fiscal years 2023 and 2027. The new pace would extend procurement for AMPV out to 2035, as the Army went from a purchase rate of 190 AMPVs a year to 131 a year.

Due to lingering challenges in the supply chain and economic inflation, BAE had to restructure its first full-rate production proposal as a two-year deal with another two-year deal down the road. By doing this, it eases the concerns of some suppliers from getting locked into products at a certain price despite the possibility of changing costs.

The AMPV completed its initial operational test and evaluation earlier this year. Dean said the service expects to start fielding to the first brigade at the beginning of 2023.