Textron‘s [TXT] Marine & Land Systems said it will build 80 armored military vehicles for the Iraqi Ministry of the Interior for the Iraqi Federal Police under an approximately $94 million U.S. Foreign Military Sales program.
Seventy-two of the 80 vehicles will be configured as Armored Personnel Carriers (APC), while the remaining eight will be in the standard U. S. Army M1117 Armored Security Vehicle (ASV) configuration employed as command and control vehicles.
All of the vehicles to be delivered under this contract will be equipped with the Textron Marine & Land Systems 40/50 turret armed with an MK-19 40mm grenade launcher and .50 caliber machine gun.
A total of 184 vehicles (122 ASV and 62 APC) built by Textron Marine & Land Systems have already been delivered to Iraq under previous procurements.
“These vehicles will be a great addition to the significant number of Textron Marine & Land Systems armored vehicles already in use by the Iraqi Ministry of Interior,” said Textron Marine & Land Systems General Manager Tom Walmsley. “The ASV has demonstrated its outstanding combat effectiveness in meeting expanding roles and missions in Iraq, while proving to be safe and reliable. The workforce at Textron Marine & Land Systems takes a great deal of pride in producing vehicles that defend and protect our U.S. troops as well as our allies. That same commitment is extended to providing highly mobile and well protected vehicles to the Iraqi forces.”
The ASV is a 4X4 wheeled armored vehicle that uses multiple layers of armor to protect its crew against small arms fire, artillery projectile fragments, IEDs and land mines. The ASV also uses a four-wheel independent suspension system.
Textron Marine & Land Systems has designed and produced more than 2,600 ASV and APC vehicles for the U.S. Army, Iraq, Colombia, and Bulgaria.