BAE Systems was awarded a $153.6 million Army contract to convert 53 M88A1 recovery vehicles to the M88A2 Heavy Equipment Recovery Combat Utility Lift Evacuation System (HERCULES) configuration.
Work on the contract will extend the M88 production line within the Combat Vehicle Industrial Base through 2016.
“This contract provides enhanced capabilities for America’s soldiers and will help preserve the defense industrial base by retaining critical employees and unique skill sets,” said Adam Zarfoss, director of Artillery and Recovery Systems at BAE. “The HERCULES is a significant upgrade over its predecessor and is essential to fulfill successful recovery missions.”
The fleet of Army Armored Brigade Combat Team (ABCT) vehicles is getting heavier, making it increasingly important that the recovery fleet is upgraded to support them, the company said in a statement. With its 70,000-pound boom, the HERCULES is able to hoist and tow twice the weight of its predecessor, the M88A1.
The HERCULES, which provides recovery support to soldiers in the field, is the only vehicle able to recover the M1 Abrams tank and the heaviest mine-resistant ambush protected (MRAP) variants in a combat environment.
The upgrade work begins immediately and will be performed primarily by the existing workforce at BAE in York, Pa., with additional work performed at Anniston Army Depot and BAE’s Aiken, S.C., facility. The contract continues the Army’s program to pure-fleet its M88s to the HERCULES variant.
To date, BAE has converted nearly 650 U.S. Army M88 vehicles to the HERCULES configuration.
Photo: BAE Systems
The M88 plays a critical role in BAE’s efforts to maintain the Combat Vehicle Industrial Base by supporting a team of highly skilled professionals and protecting the affordability of the Army’s combat vehicles.