Why This New Armored Vehicle Is the U.S. Army’s Unsung Hero

Kyle Mizokami

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A new armored vehicle is joining the U.S. Army—one that won’t grab a lot of headlines, but will form the backbone of the armored corps for decades to come. The new M1283 Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle (AMPV) is designed to keep up with the fast-moving armored force, providing mobility and protection for commanders, mortarmen, medics, surgeons, and wounded troops.

An Aging Warhorse

One of the most common armored vehicles in the U.S. Army today, at least one that isn’t a tank or infantry fighting vehicle, is the M113 armored personnel carrier, which was designed and built in the early 1960s. Lightly armed and armored, it was something like a battlefield Uber, carrying infantry up to the edge of the battlefield, and then dropping them off to fight dismounted.

In the late 1970s, the new mechanized infantry concept called for a new vehicle, with better weapons and armor, to keep pace with tanks as they fought across the battlefield. This led to the introduction of the M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicle; the M113 was relegated to other combat support roles, including as a command post vehicle, ambulance, mortar vehicle, and a ride for combat support troops such as combat engineers and air-defense troops.