Armored Multi - Purpose Vehicle The Armored Multi - Purpose Vehicle ( AMPV ) program is a U . S . Army initiative the replace the M113 armored personnel carrier and family of vehicles . Rationale . The M113 has been in service since the early 1960s and while able to take on various roles , has proven too vulnerable for combat . In the 1980s , the M2 Bradley replaced the M113 in the front - line transport role , moving it to rear - area roles . In the Iraq War , urban warfare tactics still defeated the M113 , leading it to be nearly replaced entirely in active service by MRAP vehicles . MRAPs were useful on the roads of Iraq , but have less payload capacity and poorer off - road performance . The AMPV aims to find a vehicle more versatile and mobile against a wide range of adversaries while having off - road mobility compared to Bradleys and M1 Abrams tanks . Some reports suggest that the AMPV program is being favored over the Ground Combat Vehicle program . While procurement of the AMPV fleet would cost over $ 5 billion , the Government Accountability Office estimates the GCV fleet would cost $ 37 billion . In April 2013 , the Congressional Budget Office said the AMPV would be a better buy because analysts have asserted that the vehicles the GCV is slated to replace should not be first . The GCV Infantry Fighting Vehicle would replace 61 M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles per armored combat brigade , making up 18 percent of the 346 armored combat vehicles in each armored brigade . A 24 September 2013 Congressional Research Service report suggested that given budgetary constraints , the GCV program may be unrealistic , and that one potential discussion could focus on a decision by the Army to replace the GCV with the AMPV as their number one ground combat vehicle acquisition priority . History . On 21 March 2013 , the Army issued a draft request for proposals ( RFP ) for the AMPV . The RFP proposed a $ 1 . 46 billion contract for design and development phases . The engineering and manufacturing development ( EMD ) phase would build 29 prototypes over four years from 2014 through 2017 for $ 388 million . Low - rate initial production ( LRIP ) would be from 2018 to 2020 at $ 1 . 08 billion for 289 production models . After 2020 , the Army planned to buy another 2 , 618 vehicles over ten years for a total of 2 , 907 AMPVs . Cost per vehicle is not to exceed $ 1 . 8 million , totalling $ 4 . 7 billion for the entire fleet . As with the revised GCV program , one development contract will be awarded to one company . On 1 October 2013 , the Army released a new draft RFP , delaying the start of the program by one year and raising the development costs by several hundred million dollars . The new document says the Army plans to award a five - year EMD contract in May 2014 to one contractor , which will manufacture 29 vehicles for government testing , followed by a three - year LRIP contract starting in 2020 . The EMD phase is extended from FY 2015 to FY 2019 , and raises the cost to build 29 prototypes to $ 458 million . Expenditures for three years of LRIP for 289 vehicles will be $ 244 million the first year , $ 479 million the second year , and $ 505 million the third year , totaling an increase to $ 1 . 2 billion for low - rate production . The AMPV will cost $ 1 . 68 billion before full - rate production begins , an increase from $ 1 . 46 billion previously . The new draft does not change the total amount of vehicles desired and does not include an average unit manufacturing cost . Congress approved $ 116 million for the program in the Army ' s FY 2014 budget . The operational maintenance cost requirement of the AMPV is up to $ 90 per mile , compared to $ 58 per mile for the M113 . The AMPV has a relatively long production schedule for a non - developmental vehicle of 13 years : 3 years for low - rate production and 10 years for full - rate production . The production plan was partly based on budgetary constraints , but also to be able to speed up production in the event of war or another contingency . 33 percent of an Armored Brigade Combat Team ( ABCT ) is made up of M113s , which are not used in combat operations because they are less mobile and poorly protected than other combat vehicles in an ABCT . Full - rate production should build just under 300 AMPV vehicles per year , but the ability is there to quickly increase production if an ABCT needed to deploy to combat . Letting industry build as fast as possible regularly only to stop it later is seen as irresponsible . Variants . There are to be five versions of the AMPV :