BAE Systems said it recently received a $47 million contract modification to enhance 95 of its Bradley vehicles by replacing old and damaged components with updated equipment and technology.
The $47 million award from Army TACOM Life Cycle Management is the first tasking under a not-to-exceed total contract amount of $94 million. Additional orders for the balance of the contract value may be awarded in the future.
The company recently received awards to improve, upgrade or reset the tracked armored vehicle (Defense Daily, Jan. 5, Dec. 14).
“As the mission and combat environments for our soldiers are changing, we are working to provide a modernized Bradley Fighting Vehicle that continues to perform at an optimal level, providing increased survivability and enhanced situational awareness components,” said Joe McCarthy, vice president and general manager of the Heavy Brigade Combat Team Systems for BAE.
Under this contract, the Bradley vehicles will be reset and converted from the Bradley Operation Desert Storm (ODS) model to the Bradley Operation Desert Storm Situational Awareness (ODS SA) configuration.
The Bradley ODS SA vehicle features the latest digitized electronics for optimum situational awareness, network connectivity and communication within the Heavy Brigade Combat Team (HBCT), the company said in a statement. The vehicle’s proven durability and commonality of design reduces logistic burden, while enhancing battlefield performance to meet a variety of mission requirements in various combat situations.
The modernization process includes replacing obsolete equipment with updated components, restoring the vehicle to pre-combat condition, the statement said. The work provided through this contract is supported by the company’s robust readiness and sustainment business.
The work will be performed by the company’s existing workforce at its facilities in Fayette and York, Pa., as well as the Red River Army Depot in Texarkana, Texas. Vehicle deliveries will begin in March 2012 and will end in June 2012.
Bradley Fighting Vehicles continue to provide outstanding survivability, mobility and lethality to U.S. soldiers in various combat situations, the company statement said. The Bradley fulfills five critical mission roles–infantry fighting vehicle, cavalry fighting vehicle, fire support vehicle, command vehicle and engineer squad vehicle–for the Army HBCT.
BAE designs, manufactures and supports Bradley Fighting Vehicles through its U.S. Combat Systems business. U.S. Combat Systems is a modern, efficient, full-spectrum developer, integrator and supplier of survivable, lethal ground and naval combat platforms. U.S. Combat Systems is also a main supplier of the Army’s HBCT, an integral developer of mine protected and future combat vehicles and top producer of naval guns and missile launchers.