Textron Marine & Land Systems awarded armoured security vehicle reset contract

Textron Marine and Land Systems, an operating unit of Textron Systems, a Textron Inc company has announced that it has been awarded a competitive contract by the United States Army Tank-automotive and Armaments Command (TACOM) to reset 392 M1117 armoured security vehicles (ASV). The base contract value is $19.8 million but could expand with the exercise of two option years and for emergent work, depending on the condition of vehicles inducted into the programme.

The reset programme, administered by TACOM life-cycle management command, is designed to reverse the effects of combat stress on ASVs while also giving the Army, if desired, the ability to apply vehicle survivability, safety and mobility enhancements. The programme’s objective is to return these ASVs to fully mission-capable, combatready assets, regardless of their current condition. Work will be performed at Textron Marine & Land Systems in New Orleans.

There are two one-year contract options-option year one includes work on an additional 225 vehicles, and option year two involves work on another 167 ASVs. If both options are exercised, reset activities could continue through August 2014.

In 2008, Textron Marine & Land Systems, in collaboration with Red River Army Depot, executed a six vehicle ASV reset pilot programme for TACOM. In 2010, Textron successfully refurbished an additional 12 ASVs.

“We value the trust our Army customer has in our team to apply its knowledge and experience in getting these ASVs back into the hands of our soldiers as quickly and efficiently as possible,” said Textron Marine & Land Systems Senior Vice President and General Manager Tom Walmsley.

“As the result of our initial ASV reset work, we’ve developed a comprehensive set of procedures, tooling and test equipment for M1117 vehicles. These resources, together with personnel uniquely qualified to apply lessons learned from ASV production and reset efforts, decreases execution risk, and reduces overall programme costs for the Army,” added Walmsley.

Textron Marine & Land Systems has delivered 3,327 M1117 ASVs to the US Army, as well as related vehicles to military and police forces in Iraq, Colombia and Bulgaria. These vehicles have consistently achieved exceptional operational readiness and combat availability rates greater than 90 per cent over the life of the US Army programme. Through September of this year, Textron Marine & Land Systems also has achieved 73 consecutive months of on-time ASV deliveries to the US Army.

Current US Army ASV missions include military police operations in support of convoy protection, checkpoint security, perimeter security and reconnaissance, as well as field artillery Combat Observation and Lasing Teams (COLT) with the M1200 Armoured Knight configuration.