The US Army has chosen BAE Systems and its Beowulf design for its Cold Weather All-Terrain Vehicle (CATV) program, awarding the company a $278 million contract for the delivery of first units, spare parts and contractor logistics support.
BAE Systems’ Beowulf was chosen over the Bronco design offered by Oshkosh Defense who teamed up with ST Engineering for the bid.
The US Army picked the winner after issuing the CATV request for prototypes proposals in June 2020 through the national advanced mobility consortium. The program is designed to replace the small unit support vehicles (SUSVs) that have been in service since the early 1980s. Those vehicles are known internationally as the BV206 and were also built by BAE Systems Hägglunds.
The CATV program completed the prototype evaluation phase earlier this year in Alaska. The testing included amphibious operations, navigating terrain with varying levels of complexity, starting and operating in extreme cold weather, and most critically, user assessment by soldiers.
Beowulf is built by BAE Systems Hägglunds in northern Sweden, and includes several key components from US suppliers, such as its engine, transmission, and hydraulic system.
BAE says its CATV design is an unarmored, tracked vehicle for carrying personnel and a variety of payloads in either of its two compartments. Beowulf can traverse snow, ice, rock, sand, mud, and swamp conditions, and can operate in steep mountain environments. Its amphibious feature also allows it to swim in flooded areas or coastal waters.
With a planned purchase of a total of 163 units, the US Army is becoming the first customer for the Beowulf, which is based on its sister BvS10 armored variant in service with several European nations.
“Beowulf is a highly capable solution to meet the US Army’s requirement for Arctic operations. We look forward to providing our soldiers operating in challenging terrain and environments with this highly capable vehicle,” said Mark Signorelli, vice president of business development at BAE Systems Platforms & Services. “We have been maturing and modernizing cold weather all-terrain capabilities for decades, bringing advanced capabilities to the United States and numerous other countries. This contract means we will continue to do so for many years to come.”
According to the Pentagon contract announcement, BAE Systems is expected to complete work under the contract by 2029.
