U.S. Army Orders RG-31 Mk5 Mine Protected Vehicles

(Source: General Dynamics; issued Oct. 5, 2006)

LONDON, Ontario, Canada - The U.S. Army Tank Automotive and Armaments Command (TACOM), in support of the Program Executive Office for Combat Support and Combat Service Support (PEO CS&CSS), has awarded a contract for USD$27.2 million to General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada to provide 60 RG-31 Mk5 Mine Protected Vehicles, with an option for 34 additional vehicles. General Dynamics Land Systems, the Canadian company's parent corporation, is a business unit of General Dynamics.

The contract was signed through the Canadian Commercial Corporation, a Crown Agency of the Canadian Government. Under this contract, General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada will provide the program management while BAE Land Systems OMC of South Africa will manufacture the vehicles. Deliveries will occur from January to April in 2007.

The RG-31 Mk5 is the latest version of the highly successful RG-31 family. The Mk5 delivers a significant increase in power and payload to meet emerging requirements. In service with forces around the world, the RG-31 is a highly effective multi-role armored vehicle capable of a variety of military applications. Offering enhanced mine blast resistance, as well as protection against both improvised explosive devices and ballistic threats, these vehicles will be used by the U.S. Army in support of ongoing activities.

General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada previously delivered 148 RG-31 vehicles to the U.S. Army in 2005 and will soon be completing delivery of 75 vehicles for the Canadian Forces. In addition, the vehicles have been extensively used by NATO forces in the former Yugoslavia, as well as by the United Nations in Lebanon, Georgia, Syria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kosovo.

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BAE Wins $251M Order for M-88 Recovery Vehicles

(Source: US Department of Defense; issued Nov. 16, 2006)

BAE Systems, York, Pa., was awarded on Nov. 9, 2006, a $251,069,605 modification to a firm-fixed-price and cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for production of M88A2 Hercules recovery vehicles and system technical support.

Work will be performed in York, Pa. (98 percent), and Aiken, S.C. (2 percent), and is expected to be completed by Nov. 30, 2009. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This was a sole source contract initiated on Aug. 10, 2006.

The U.S. Army Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command, Warren, Mich., is the contracting activity (DAAE07-01-C-N030). (ends)


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BAE SYSTEMS Awarded a $251 Million Contract Modification for M88A2 Hercules Recovery Vehicles

(Source: BAE Systems; issued Nov. 16, 2006)

YORK, Pa. --- BAE Systems has been awarded a $251 million contract modification from the U.S. Army TACOM Life Cycle Management Command to remanufacture 113 M88A2 Hercules recovery vehicles, provide spare parts and extend system technical support for the U.S. Army.

"These combat proven vehicles will help the Army meet the projected fielding of the modular Heavy Brigade Combat Teams," said Ron McCleaf, M88A2 program manager for BAE Systems.

Work will begin immediately at the company's York, Pa. facility, with vehicle deliveries scheduled to begin in December 2007 and continuing through November 2009 and is the largest continuous production run of M88A2 vehicles since the program began.

The contract provides for two options worth up to an additional $18.9 million to remanufacture eight additional vehicles for the U.S. Army and two for the U.S. Marine Corps.

Hercules has provided unmatched capabilities during Operation Iraqi Freedom. To date, 157 Hercules vehicles have been fielded against a total U.S. Army requirement of more than 500 vehicles. The U.S. Marine Corps has fielded 60 vehicles in the M88A2 configuration. An additional 114 vehicles have been delivered to allied nations.

Hercules provides unparalleled capability for recovering today's 70-ton combat vehicles and answers the need for cost-effective, self-supporting heavy recovery performance. Key upgrades from the M88A1 include improved power-assisted braking, improved steering, improved electrical system and increased engine horsepower, providing soldiers and Marines with 25 percent more towing muscle, 40 percent more lifting strength and 55 percent more winching power in meeting any mission requirement.

Although not directly mentioned, this order could be a follow-on for the Iraqi Security Forces.



Textron Wins $133M Order for Armored Security Vehicles

(Source: US Department of Defense; issued Nov. 21, 2006)

Textron Marine & Land Systems, New Orleans, La., was awarded on Nov. 16, 2006, a $133,632,621 modification to a firm-fixed-price contract for armored security vehicles. (M117)

Work will be performed in New Orleans, La., and is expected to be completed by June 30, 2009. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This was a sole source contract initiated on May 9, 2005.

The U.S. Army Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command, Warren, Mich., is the contracting activity (W56HZV-05-C-0470).

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New Stryker weapons system tested. 4th Bde, 2nd Inf is the old 2nd Cavalry Regiment. Looks like their new 'horses' have a good kick. These guys are heading for Iraq soon, so keep them in your thoughts.

Latest Stryker tested

MNOK 48.6 Weapons Control Systems Order

(Source: Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace; issued Dec. 19, 2006)

Kongsberg has been awarded orders from General Dynamics Land Systems in Canada for a total of MNOK 48.6 regarding spare parts to the weapons control systems deployed on the US Army’s armoured personnel carriers.

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Anyone know what "MNOK" is in $$$?

quote:

MNOK

Million Norwegian Krone
1 Norwegian krone = 0.154576229 U.S. dollars

Armored Vehicles for Iraq Delayed

Pentagon to Speed Up Deployment of MRAP Vehicles

(Source: US Department of Defense; issued May 10, 2007)

WASHINGTON --- Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates is exploring ways to speed up the timetable for getting more Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles to troops in Iraq.

Gates told reporters during yesterday’s Pentagon news conference that he’s impressed by what he’s read about the MRAPs and the improved troop protection they offer over up-armored Humvees.

He cited an article that noted that no Marines had been killed during 300 incidents in which their MRAPs were involved in improvised-explosive-device attacks. “That certainly got my attention,” he said.

The MRAP’s raised, V-shaped underbelly deflects the force of IEDs and other blasts from below.

Sixty-five MRAPs in use in Iraq are saving Marines’ lives, Lt. Gen. Emerson Garner, the Marine Corps’ deputy commandant for programs and resources, told a congressional committee earlier this year.

“Our experience is that Marines in these vehicles have been four or five times safer than a Marine in an armored Humvee,” Garner told members of the House and Senate Sea Power and Expeditionary Forces subcommittees. “Based on this experience, we recently decided to replace our armored Humvees in theater on a one-for-one basis with MRAPs.”

Gates said he supports that effort and hopes to get the Army to speed up its procurement timetable for the vehicles, too. “My understanding … is that the Army has been recalibrating its interest and has substantially increased the number of these vehicles they think they can use,” he said.

The services have ordered about 7,700 of the vehicles, at a cost of about $8 billion. Gates plan to meet with Army and Marine Corps officials tomorrow to discuss their MRAP procurement plans and explore ways to accelerate them.

Up-armored Humvees offered the best protection available when they were fielded, but Gates said MRAPs provide even more. “Now we have something better, and we’re going to get that to the field as best we can,” he said.

Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, called MRAPs an example of how industry has stepped up to the plate to come up with solutions to military needs. “I think what you have is a natural evolution of technology and very sharp people in business and industry looking at the problem and devising different ways to defeat the problem,” he said.

While acknowledging the benefit of the MRAPs, Pace cautioned that they don’t represent an end-all to the dangers of IEDs.

“There’s no solution out there that’s going to protect everybody from everything all the time,” he said. “What you try to do is … provide the best protection you can that still allows a soldier (or) Marine to be able to go out and do the job they need to do.”

Giving every deployed troop a private M-1 Abrams tank would probably be the best protection, but even tanks are vulnerable to some weapons, Pace said.

He added that most jobs required in the combat zone can’t be accomplished while rumbling around the city inside a tank.

“So you’ve got to find the right balance between force protection and the mission that needs to be done,” he said. (ends)


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Transcript of Pentagon’s May 9, 2007 Press Briefing (excerpt)

(Source: US Department of Defense; issued May 10, 2007)

DoD Operational Update Briefing with Secretary Gates and General Pace from the Pentagon Briefing Room, Arlington Va.


QUESTION: The MRAP program, the Mine Resistant Armor Program (sic/Ambush Protected). You sent the memo last week to the service secretaries of the Navy and asking them to come back Friday with a plan, an approach, to accelerate procurement. This is the first program you've really weighed in on from what I can tell. What prompted the memo? And also, you mentioned in it your concern about a wide variance in the approach between the Army and the Marines in using the vehicle. Could you elaborate a little bit?

SEC. GATES: Well, I think the first thing that caught my attention, as is often the case, was a newspaper article that indicated that out of something like 300 incidents involving IEDs, where these MRAP vehicles were involved, no Marines had been killed. And that certainly got my attention. And the more we looked into it, it was clear that there was a lot of interest in this. There's clearly interest in it on the Hill. They've added money to the supplemental to buy more MRAPs.

My concern is that the rate of production is nowhere near what it needs to be to meet the demand on the part of either the Army or the Marine Corps, and there's several different categories of these things. And one of the questions I had -- the Marines had actually at one point ordered a lot more of these vehicles than the Army had, and that was the basis of my question about how they looked at it differently.

My understanding -- I haven't seen a piece of paper on it -- is that the Army has been recalibrating its interest and has substantially increased the number of these vehicles they think they can use.


QUESTION: General Pace, you were around for the controversy about we don't have enough up-armored humvees. The Pentagon spent billions of dollars to get about 12,000, 13,000 in theater. Now you have to buy a new vehicle almost supplanting the humvee. What went wrong? Was that vehicle not effective in the long run?

GEN. PACE: Oh, I think what you have is a natural evolution of technology and very sharp people in business and industry looking at the problem and devising different ways to defeat that problem. And the up-armored humvee --


QUESTION: You said people -- sharp people in industry.

GEN. PACE: No, I mean sharp people in industry looking for ways to defeat that problem -- or to protect us from that problem. So the up-armored humvee and then the enhanced armor on the humvees -- same thing with protective body armor -- a certain way to defend yourself, then another manufacturer determines how to do it with -- thinner and lighter.

The same thing happens throughout the business world as people tackle problems. What this is the next evolution of vehicles that is responding to the underbelly attacks that sometimes take place. So it's a natural progression, I believe, of lighter, more effective, more resistant armor, both personal and vehicle.

SEC. GATES: I would that -- to your point -- it also is a reflection of the fact that we are dealing with a smart, agile enemy. And they are adjusting their tactics and their capabilities as we move along, and so, you know, we have the up-armored humvees, and they're the best we had and we got as many of them to the field as we could. Now we have something better, and we're going to get that to the field as best we can. But these are huge vehicles, first of all. These things are about the size of a bus, as far as I can tell. And -- is that about right?

GEN. PACE: Yes, sir. And there's no solution out there that's going to protect everybody from everything all the time.

What you try to do is, you try to provide the best protection you can that still allows a soldier, Marine to be able to go out and do the job they need to do.

So if you put everybody, each soldier, inside of his own private M-1 tank, he would have great protection, but there are still devices out there that can destroy that tank, and he would not be able to do his job, because his job is not to rumble around the city inside of a tank.

So you've got to find the right balance between force protection and the mission that needs to be done.

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Ultimately, the Pentagon could buy over 15,000 Mine-Resistant, Ambush-Protected Vehicles (MRAP) like this Cougar used by the US Marines in Iraq. (DoD photo)

Army Seeks $20B for MRAPs

USA Today | May 18, 2007
source link

WASHINGTON - The Army has asked Defense Secretary Robert Gates to approve spending almost $20 billion for new armored vehicles, a week after Gates called deploying the vehicles the military's top hardware priority.

Acting Army Secretary Pete Geren asked Gates for as many as 17,770 Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles (MRAPs), according to a memo dated May 15 and obtained by USA TODAY. The vehicles would be shipped to Iraq after production, reaching the goal in July 2009, according to Geren's memo.

Combined with orders by other services, the total cost of the new vehicles through July 2009 will be almost $25 billion, Pentagon records show. The Marines and Navy want 3,500 MRAPs, while the Air Force and special operations units are seeking another 1,000.

However, there may not be enough material and production capacity to field the MRAPs quickly, according to the memo and Pentagon officials.

No single company can provide more than 1,200 of the vehicles per month, which is the Marines' production goal, said Chris Isleib, a Pentagon spokesman.

Adequate supplies of steel for armor and rubber for tires are also concerns, Isleib said.

Loren Thompson, a military analyst at the Lexington Institute, criticized the Pentagon for moving too slowly on the MRAP program.

"By the time we field all the vehicles we could be on our way out of Iraq," Thompson said.

Thompson said MRAPs may be needed elsewhere.

"Sadly, this vehicle will probably find plenty of uses in other places," Thompson said. "We've shown the world how to fight our army to a standstill."

The Army's rush to buy more MRAPs could affect how many other armored vehicles it buys now and in the future, according to the memo. The Army has sent officials to Iraq to determine how MRAPs will fit in with its existing fleet of armored vehicles, including tanks and armored personnel carriers.

The Army planned to spend about $5.5 billion this year on its three main armored vehicles -- the Abrams tank and Bradley and Stryker armored personnel carriers -- Army budget documents show.

Gates and other Pentagon leaders like the MRAP because its raised chassis and V-shaped hull help protect troops from roadside bombs, which are also called improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Roadside bombs cause 70% of U.S. casualties in Iraq.

Gates told all services on May 2 to determine how many MRAPs they need. The Army, until the May 15 memo, had sought 2,500 MRAPs. Senior Army officials said commanders in the field valued the maneuverability of the Humvee, the military's longtime workhorse vehicle, saying the MRAPs were often too large and unwieldy.

The number of MRAPs in Geren's memo matches the number of armored Humvees the Army operates in Iraq. The Marine Corps has already announced its intent to replace all its Humvees with MRAPs, saying the new armored vehicles are as much as four times safer.

Eight companies are competing for the contracts to build the vehicles, said Capt. Jeff Landis, a Marine Corps spokesman. The Marines are leading the Pentagon's development of the MRAPs, which are now being tested at the Aberdeen Proving Grounds in Maryland.

Testing should be done by early June, said Brig. Gen. Charles Anderson, the Army's director of force development. "It's round the clock," Anderson said of the testing. "It shows the sense of urgency."

Oversight Council Checks Out Mine-Resistant Vehicles

(Source: US Department of Defense; issued May 21, 2007)

ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. --- Senior military and civilian leaders from the Joint Requirements Oversight Council got an up-close look at Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicle capabilities during a visit here yesterday.

The group was led by Navy Adm. Edmund P. Giambastiani, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and head of the JROC, and included senior military officers and civilians from the Defense Department and all four services. Other attendees included Navy Adm. Patrick M. Walsh, vice chief of naval operations; Air Force Gen. John D.W. Corley, Air Force vice chief of staff; and Tina W. Jonas, the Defense Department’s comptroller.

While at Aberdeen, the group saw a dozen versions of the vehicle from different contractors. The MRAP has a raised, V-shaped underbelly that deflects the force of improvised explosive devices and other blasts from below. It’s expected to reduce casualties from mines, improvised explosive devices and rocket-propelled grenades.

“MRAP vehicles have saved lives in Iraq and will continue to save lives,” said Giambastiani. “It is the best vehicle protection we have to date.”

Another attendee said getting the vehicles to troops quickly is a high priority.

"We have an urgent and compelling need for these vehicles,” said Delores Etter, assistant secretary of the Navy for research, development and acquisition. “It is our civic duty and our responsibility to get these vehicles to our deployed servicemembers as soon as we possibly can."

After test-driving the vehicles, the group traveled to a range to watch an explosive test on one of the MRAP vehicles. According to members of the JROC, the visit confirmed the urgent need to get MRAP vehicles to troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“The MRAP is the JROC’s highest priority acquisition program, and it is a notable improvement over the armored vehicles currently in use,” Giambastiani said. “The design and armor provides greater protection and increases survivability.”

But while the vehicles may increase troop protection, the admiral cautioned they are not an end-all solution. “No vehicle, whatever its armor, is invulnerable,” he added. “It is inevitable that we will lose some of these in the course of combat. We also expect the enemy to make an all-out effort to disable or destroy an MRAP.”

However, the testing is a critical part of providing the best possible solution for troops. “I am so impressed with the hard work and dedication of the testing team here at Aberdeen,” said Etter. “They are working seven days a week to put these vehicles through a rigorous cycle of tests so we can better determine which vehicles will be selected for further production.”

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GD Expands Alabama Facility for MRAP Production

(Source: General Dynamics Land Systems; issued June 12, 2007)

STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. --- General Dynamics Land Systems, a business unit of General Dynamics, will establish assembly operations for Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles in Anniston and Oxford, Ala., and beginning mid-June will increase employment there by 270. In addition, General Dynamics will invest approx. $2.6 million in capital improvements to the facilities.

The main production site for assembly of MRAP vehicles will employ 220 new workers in an 80,000 square-foot leased portion of a BR Williams-owned building in Oxford. A supporting production site in Building 169, on Anniston Army Depot, will employ 50 new workers. General Dynamics Land Systems currently employs 240 workers on the depot building Fox and Stryker combat vehicles.

The assembly operations are being created to support a $244.5 million work order awarded on April 30 by Force Protection, Inc. to assist with the production of 1,000 vehicles for the U.S. Marine Corps' Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle program.

Force Protection and General Dynamics have formed a joint venture, Force Dynamics, to share in the production and program management of the contract. The Alabama sites will add production capacity for Force Protection's Category I 4x4 and Category II 6x6 Cougar vehicles.

Anniston Army Depot will partner with General Dynamics and perform a share of the MRAP work. General Dynamics also contracted with BR Williams to operate a warehouse in Oxford to support the new production operations.

General Dynamics currently employs approximately 700 workers throughout Alabama. These new positions will increase total General Dynamics employment in the state to nearly 1,000.

Force Protection Wins $221M Order for MRAP Vehicles

(Source: US Department of Defense; issued June 19, 2007)

Force Protection Industries, Inc., Ladson, S.C., is being awarded a $221,688,050 firm-fixed-priced delivery order #0004 under previously awarded contract (M67854-07-D-5031) for additional 395 Category I and 60 Category II Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) vehicles.

Work will be performed in Ladson, S.C., and work is expected to be completed by December 2008.Contract funds will not expire by the end of the current fiscal year.This contract was competitively procured.

The Marine Corps Systems Command, Quantico, Va., is the contracting activity.

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General Dynamics Awarded USD$20 Million Contract to Supply RG-31 Mk5 Mine Protected Vehicles to the U.S. Army

(Source: General Dynamics Land Systems Canada; issued June 20, 2007)

LONDON, Ontario --- The U.S. Army TACOM Life Cycle Management Command, in support of the Program Executive Office for Combat Support and Combat Service Support (PEO CS&CSS), has awarded a contract for USD$19.9 million to General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada to provide 44 RG-31 Mk5 Mine Protected Vehicles. General Dynamics Land Systems, the Canadian company's parent corporation, is a business unit of General Dynamics.

The contract was signed through the Canadian Commercial Corporation, a Crown Agency of the Canadian Government. Under this contract, General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada will provide program management, while BAE Land Systems OMC of South Africa will manufacture the vehicles. Deliveries will occur from October 2007 to November 2007.

The RG-31 Mk5 is the latest version of the highly successful RG-31 vehicle family. U.S. forces have previously ordered or received 448 RG-31 vehicles, including 265 Mk5s for the U.S. Army and Special Operations Command (SOCOM), and 24 Mk5s for the U.S. Marine Corps under the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle program. The vehicles have proven to be highly effective against mines, improvised explosive devices and ballistic threats encountered by U.S. and allied forces in both Iraq and Afghanistan.

US Army Rushes to Deploy New Armored Vehicles

(Source: US Department of Defense; issued June 20, 2007)

WASHINGTON --- The Army is working with its sister services to ramp up production of the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle and speed up the timetable for getting it to deployed troops, Pete Geren, the Army secretary nominee, said yesterday.

Speaking to the Senate Armed Services Committee during his confirmation hearing, Geren, currently the acting secretary, said he shares the Army’s commitment to getting MRAPs to Iraq and Afghanistan “as quickly as we possibly can.”

Geren noted that Army Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno, commander of Multinational Corps Iraq, has requested more than 17,000 of the new armored vehicles to replace Humvees. Army leaders are evaluating which Humvees need to be replaced, based on the missions they are used to conduct, and to set priorities for getting MRAPs fielded, he said.

“We’re working with the Navy and the Marines to ramp up the production capacity so that we can get these to the theaters as fast as possible,” he said. “I think that we have to look at them as a vehicle that'll part of Army going forward.”

The Marines have had good success with the MRAPs, which have raised, V-shaped underbellies that deflect the force of improvised explosive devices and other blasts from below.

Sixty-five MRAPs in use in Iraq are saving Marines’ lives, Lt. Gen. Emerson Garner, the Marine Corps’ deputy commandant for programs and resources, told a congressional committee earlier this year.

“Our experience is that Marines in these vehicles have been four or five times safer than a Marine in an armored Humvee,” Garner told members of the House and Senate Sea Power and Expeditionary Forces subcommittees. “Based on this experience, we recently decided to replace our armored Humvees in theater on a one-for-one basis with MRAPs.”

The Marines’ success caught Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates’ attention, and he’s pushing to speed up the timetable for getting more MRAPs to troops in Iraq.

Up-armored Humvees offered the best protection available when they were fielded, but Gates told Pentagon reporters in May that MRAPs provide even more. “Now we have something better, and we’re going to get that to the field as best we can,” he said.

Navy Adm. Edmund Giambastiani, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and head of the Joint Requirements Oversight Council, recently visited Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., with other defense leaders to see the various versions of the MRAP being considered.

“MRAP vehicles have saved lives in Iraq and will continue to save lives,” the admiral said. “It is the best vehicle protection we have to date.”

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Textron Wins Order for 369 more U.S. Army M1117 Armored Security Vehicles

(Source: Textron Inc.; issued June 21, 2007)

NEW ORLEANS --- Textron Marine & Land, an operating unit of Textron Systems, a Textron Inc. company, has been awarded a contract modification for $255.5 million to build an additional 369 M1117 Armored Security Vehicles (ASV) by the U.S. Army Tank-Automotive & Armaments Command (TACOM). This modification is a follow on to a contract finalized in 2006.

"We continue to experience both strong demand and exceptional customer feedback for the ASV," said Tom Walmsley, general manager, Textron Marine & Land Systems. "In addition, this reaffirms confidence in a product that has been in continuous combat for more than 51 months with an Operational Readiness Rate consistently greater than 90 percent."

With this award, the total number of ASVs produced or under contract is now at 1729 vehicles.

Production and deliveries of the ASV are continuing at Textron Marine & Land with firm contracts through at least October 2008.

The ASV is used by the United States Army for its military police, convoy protection and Field Artillery Combat Observation and Lasing Teams (COLT). Its record of performance, reliability and survivability in the field is impeccable. More than 750 ASVs have been deployed in the Global War on Terrorism in support of combat missions. Textron Marine & Land has built more than 950 vehicles to date.

The ASV is a 4X4 wheeled armored vehicle that offers significant crew protection through the employment of multiple layers of armor that provides defense against small arms fire, artillery projectile fragments, and land mines. This advanced armor is exceedingly lightweight and allows the vehicle to be able to "roll-on/roll-off" C-130 military transport aircraft. The ASV possesses superior mobility, agility, handling, and ride quality through the utilization of a four-wheel independent suspension system.

Textron Marine & Land has equipped the U.S. Army Military Police version with a specially designed dual-weapon station that, unlike many other vehicles, enables the crew to load, reload and clear gun jams under full armor protection. With minor modifications and appropriate outfitting, ASV variants can perform a wide variety of missions including scout, infantry personnel carrier, reconnaissance, command and recovery.

Gates Asks Congress to Transfer More Funds to MRAP Program

(Source: US Department of Defense; issued July 18, 2007)

WASHINGTON --- Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates yesterday asked Congress for approval to transfer nearly $1.2 billion to the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle program to get an estimated 3,500 of the vehicles to Iraq by the year’s end, defense officials announced today.

The funds, to be added to almost $4 billion already programmed for MRAPs this year, will speed up the timetable for getting deployed troops the best armored vehicles possible, said John Young, director of defense research and engineering and chairman of the Defense Department’s MRAP task force.

By reprogramming an additional $1.2 billion to the program, the department can sign contracts for an additional 2,650 MRAPs, Young told Pentagon reporters today. This will bring the department’s total MRAP order to 6,415.

Nearly three-quarters of those MRAPs are slated for delivery by Dec. 31. “By the end of the year, we hope to have delivered 3,935 vehicles,” he said.

Factoring in the time required to equip those vehicles with jammers, communication equipment and other gear and to deliver them to the theater, Young estimated that about 3,500 of the MRAPs will be in Iraq by Dec. 31.

Meeting last night with the House and Senate Armed Services and Appropriation committees, Gates emphasized the importance of getting the V-hulled vehicles that deflect underbelly blasts to the combat zone as quickly as possible, Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell said.

Gates told Congress “time is of the essence,” because “every month troops go without MRAPs could indeed cost lives,” Morrell said. “The secretary came away from his meeting confident that Congress recognizes the urgency of this request, and he is hopeful they will quickly approve it,” he said.

Congress already has shown solid support for MRAPs. The legislators added $1.2 billion to the department’s initial $2.6 billion request for the program for fiscal 2007, Young said.

If approved, the fund transfer to the MRAP program will make it the Defense Department’s third-largest acquisition program, he noted. Only the missile defense and Joint Strike Fighter programs will be bigger.

But dollars alone aren’t enough to get MRAPs to the field, defense officials recognize. “There are no parking lots anywhere where we can go and buy lots of MRAPs,” said Marine Corps Brig. Gen. Michael Brogan, commander of Marine Corps Systems Command.

Another problem is that no existing production lines were equipped to pump out as many MRAPs as the department needs as fast as it needs them.

A joint Defense Department team is jumping through hoops to cut through those obstacles and move MRAP procurement as quickly as possible, Young said. “This is not being handled in a business-as-usual fashion,” he said.

The Defense Department has dramatically compressed the normal contracting process, worked around the clock to test potential vehicles, and helped industry aggressively ramp up production capacity, Morrell told reporters.

Four companies currently produce MRAPs, and another may join the effort soon if its prototype model measures up, Brogan said. These companies are quickly increasing their production rates to keep up with demand.

But the MRAP task force’s first challenge, Young said, was to make sure the materials and parts required for MRAPs were being produced at rates fast enough to keep up with production.

For example, the tire industry was able to produce only about 1,000 of the large, heavy-duty MRAP tires per month in June. To keep pace with plans to build about 1,300 MRAPs per month by December, at least 6,000 tires a month would be needed.

“We have taken steps to help two vendors increase their ability to build tires, and we are buying tires as fast as they can produce them so that we don’t have a shortage,” Young said.

The task force faced similar issues with steel, axles, engines and other MRAP components, and is taking similar measures to ensure they’re available, he said.

To help their efforts, Gates assigned the MRAP program a “DX” rating in June to ensure other defense programs don’t interfere with MRAP production, said Young. DX ratings are reserved for top-priority defense acquisition programs.

“The DX rating provides MRAP the highest-priority access to components and materials if supplier capacity cannot meet the demand from all programs,” Young explained.

Another challenge in MRAP acquisition is ensuring the vehicles produced are up to standard and provide the best protection possible, he said.

Testers at the Army’s Aberdeen Test Center, at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., are putting MRAPs through the paces, Brogan said. Working three shifts around the clock, they’re evaluating prototypes to ensure they provide adequate ballistic protection and operate reliably.

In addition, troops who have served in Iraq are testing the vehicles under conditions designed to replicate the combat theater, he said.

As production capabilities increase, Morrell said, it’s “imperative to take full advantage of that new-found capacity.”

Troops in Iraq deserve nothing less than the very best armored vehicles possible, the officials said.

“Our troops battling improvised explosive devices deserve the very best protection available,” Morrell said. “And right now, that is an armored vehicle with a raised chassis and a V-shaped undercarriage, features that make MRAPs better able to deflect blasts on roadside and deeply buried bombs.”



Click here for full transcript of July 18 Pentagon news briefing on the MRAP program with John Young, MRAP Task Force Chairman and others from the Pentagon (HTML format)

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