Following its award of the Cold-Weather All-Terrain Vehicle (CATV) production contract to BAE Systems on Monday, the Army has said it expects deliveries to begin in late fiscal year 2023 and intends to procure 110 vehicles under the $278.2 million deal.
The Army also noted that the first group of CATVs are slated to go to the Northern Warfare Training Center at Fort Wainwright in Alaska.
“We look forward to the CATV fielding and the increased capabilities it will bring to America’s Arctic Airborne Division,” Maj Gen. Brian Eifler, commander of the Army 11th Airborne Division and deputy commander of U.S. Alaskan Command, said in a statement. “The small unit support vehicles were great in their day, but have needed replacing for the past two decades. These new vehicles will provide our Arctic Angels with capable, reliable mobility and increase their survivability in the harshest conditions Alaska and the Arctic has to offer.”
BAE Systems was awarded the CATV production deal on Monday, beating out Oshkosh Defense [OSK], and will deliver its new Beowulf platform, which is an un-armored variant of its BvS10 tracked all-terrain vehicle (Defense Daily, Aug. 22).
“Beowulf is a highly capable solution to meet the U.S. Army’s requirement for Arctic operations. We look forward to providing our soldiers operating in challenging terrain and environments with this highly capable vehicle,” Mark Signorelli, vice president of business development for BAE Systems Platforms & Services, said in a statement following the award. “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.”
The CATV program is intended to replace the Army’s legacy Small Unit Support Vehicles, also built by BAE Systems and in service since the 1980s, and is a key piece of the Army’s new Arctic strategy, which calls for procuring a new platform to offer improved mobility in cold-weather, mountainous conditions.
“[CATV] is a platform that meets long-known capability gaps in Arctic regions. This enhanced capability will increase the Army’s ability to operate in extreme cold-weather, mountainous and high-latitude environments and supports the Army and DoD Arctic Strategies,” Lt. Col. Seth Langston, the Army’s Maneuver Requirements Division’s Mobility and Lethality Branch chief, said in a statement.
The Army noted CATV will provide enhanced mobility to traverse through terrain including water, tundra and bog-like muskeg environments, with the ability to transport up to nine soldiers for missions ranging from homeland defense to search and rescue operations.
BAE Systems cited Beowulf’s articulated mobility system as “key to its effectiveness, providing optimal maneuverability across varying surfaces.”
“[Beowulf’s] modular design can be reconfigured for multiple missions, such as logistical support, disaster and humanitarian relief, search and rescue, and other missions as required,” the company wrote. “Its large windows and spacious cabin make Beowulf suitable to the tasks for the CATV program, including search and rescue, defense support to civilian authorities, and homeland defense. Its modern, commercial design ensures soldiers’ operational effectiveness in executing a wide variety of difficult missions.”
The Army in June reactivated its 11th Airborne Division to be based in Alaska as the service looks to bolster its capability for Arctic operations, include transforming the current 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division into a lighter, more maneuverable 1st Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 11th Airborne Division, outfitted with capabilities such as the future CATV (Defense Daily, June 6).