U.S. Army’s AMPV gets autonomous driving upgrade

RENK America has developed a drive-by-wire transmission upgrade that enables autonomous vehicle operation on the U.S. Army’s Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle, working with BAE Systems and Forterra to deliver a plug-and-play autonomy kit that requires no vehicle redesign and fits within the existing transmission space claim.

The system centers on RENK America’s HMPT transmission drive-by-wire kit, which serves as the hardware interface that allows Forterra’s AutoDrive autonomous driving software to control the vehicle without a human operator at the controls. Drive-by-wire technology replaces mechanical linkages between the driver’s controls and the vehicle’s steering, braking, and throttle systems with electronic signals, creating the digital control pathway that autonomous software requires to operate the vehicle. The RENK America implementation is designed as a direct replacement for the current transmission control system, maintaining the same physical footprint and requiring only the installation of the upgrade kit rather than structural modifications to the vehicle’s hull or drivetrain architecture, per the company’s announcement.

Corey Johnson, CEO of RENK America, framed the approach in terms that reflect the Army’s current acquisition philosophy. “We’re focused on delivering capability that works in the real world,” Johnson said in the company’s statement. “Leveraging what’s already fielded and trusted is how you accelerate without taking unnecessary risk.” That philosophy matters in the context of Army vehicle autonomy programs, which have historically struggled to move from demonstration to fielding because new autonomous systems required significant vehicle modifications, custom hardware, and integration work that drove up cost and complexity. A kit that installs on existing hardware without redesign addresses that barrier directly.

The AMPV is the Army’s replacement for the M113 armored personnel carrier, a vehicle that entered service in 1960 and has been used in every major U.S. conflict since Vietnam in a steadily expanding range of roles. BAE Systems produces the AMPV as a tracked armored platform designed to carry personnel, serve as a command post, provide medical treatment, and support mortar operations across a family of variants sharing a common hull. The vehicle entered Army service in 2021 after years of development and has been fielded to units replacing their M113s as the service works through a decades-long recapitalization of its medium tracked vehicle fleet. Adding autonomous capability to a platform that crews are already trained on and that is already in the logistics and maintenance system is significantly faster and lower-risk than introducing an entirely new autonomous vehicle alongside the existing fleet.

Forterra’s AutoDrive is the autonomous driving system that the RENK America drive-by-wire kit enables on the AMPV. Forterra, a Clarksburg, Maryland-based autonomous vehicle technology company that has worked extensively with the U.S. Army on ground vehicle autonomy, has developed AutoDrive as a system capable of operating military ground vehicles in complex terrain without requiring a human driver. The combination of RENK America’s transmission-level drive-by-wire hardware and Forterra’s software creates an integrated autonomous capability that BAE Systems is incorporating into its rapid capability kit initiative, which is designed to accelerate the deployment of advanced technologies across the Army’s vehicle fleet, per the announcement.

RENK America’s HMPT transmission is currently fielded across the entire U.S. Army medium tracked vehicle fleet, according to the company, a claim that, if accurate, means the same drive-by-wire upgrade pathway is theoretically applicable to the Bradley Fighting Vehicle, M109 Paladin self-propelled howitzer, and M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System. The Bradley is the Army’s primary infantry fighting vehicle, with thousands in service. The M109 Paladin is the Army’s standard self-propelled 155mm artillery system. The M270 MLRS fires guided and unguided rockets and missiles including the Army Tactical Missile System at ranges exceeding 300 kilometers. Enabling autonomous operation on any of those platforms through a transmission-level kit that requires no vehicle redesign represents a force multiplication opportunity that goes far beyond a single platform upgrade.

Every Bradley, every Paladin, every MLRS that shares the HMPT transmission is a potential recipient of the same autonomous capability.