Army FLRAA Moves Forward with Valor and Defiant

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  September 18, 2019 | International, Land

  U.S. Army Awards BAE Systems $318 Million for Next Generation M88A3 Recovery Vehicle

  STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The U.S. Army has awarded BAE Systems a $318 million contract to upgrade M88 recovery vehicles to the M88A3 configuration designed for single-vehicle recovery of the latest version of the Abrams tank. The new M88A3 configuration eliminates the necessity of using two vehicles to raise and move the tanks, which have increased in weight in recent years. “As the U.S. Army's primary recovery vehicle, the M88 plays a critical role in the Army's Armored Brigade Combat Team,” said Dennis Hancock, recovery programs director for BAE Systems' Combat Vehicles business. “We have partnered closely with the Army and industry partners to develop a solution that addresses the single-vehicle recovery gap. We are proud to continue to support the Army's recovery needs by providing a next-generation solution to effectively rescue disabled tanks from the battlefield.” The M88A3 configuration features an upgraded powertrain, suspension and tracks, increasing the vehicle's speed, survivability and reliability. The M88A3 also features a seventh road wheel to reduce ground pressure and new hydropneumatic suspension units (HSUs) that enable the track to be locked out for greater control when recovering vehicles. The contract is being awarded under an Other Transactional Authority (OTA) acquisition model for upgrading the M88A2 Heavy Equipment Recovery Combat Utility Lift Evacuation System (HERCULES) to the next generation M88A3 HERCULES. BAE Systems' M88 family of recovery vehicles has provided the Army with unprecedented capability for recovering stranded or disabled combat vehicles since the 1960s. Due to incremental weight increases of the Army's Main Battle Tank over the years, the M88A3's predecessor, the M88A2, is currently unable to safely perform single-vehicle recovery of the Abrams. BAE Systems has invested Independent Research and Development to develop the M88A3 for three years in an effort to identify, understand, and provide solutions to return to single-vehicle recovery of the tank. The work will be performed at BAE Systems' facilities in York, Pennsylvania; Aiken, South Carolina, Anniston, Alabama, and Sterling Heights, Michigan. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190917006045/en/

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  April 4, 2024 | International, C4ISR

  CISA Joins the Minimum Viable Secure Product Working Group | CISA

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  January 9, 2019 | International, Land

  US military buys additional Trophy APS, Rafael pushes light version for Bradley and Stryker

  Ashley Roque, Washington, DC - Jane's Defence Weekly In the US military's bid to protect troops inside its M1 Abrams main battle tanks from incoming threats such as anti-tank guided missiles and rocket-propelled grenades, the army and US Marine Corps (USMC) are purchasing additional Israeli-built Trophy active protection systems (APSs). Leonardo DRS, Rafael's US-based partner, announced on 8 January that it has received a contract initially worth up to USD79.6 million to provide the services with additional Trophy systems. The latest contract pushes the programme's funded value more than USD200 million. "Leonardo DRS is proud of the confidence shown by the army in deciding to field Trophy to even more US combat brigades," said Aaron Hankins, vice-president and general manager of the Leonardo DRS Land Systems division. "Together with our Rafael partners, we are fully committed to meeting our customers' demands and are working in parallel to further address the urgent protection needs of other US platforms." The company declined to discuss the specific number of APSs acquired under the latest contract or how they will be split between the army and USMC. With a proliferation of anti-tank guided missiles and the Pentagon preparing for a potential ground conflict with Russian forces, the army evaluated three APSs: Rafael's Trophy on the Abrams tank, IMI Systems' (now owned by Elbit Systems) Iron Fist on the M2 Bradley, and Artis' Iron Curtain on the Stryker. Trophy was the first system flagged to proceed. Then, in November, the Army's Requirements Oversight Council (AROC) decided Iron Fist will move into the next phase of urgent qualification testing, and plans to urgently field "at least a brigade's worth of capability", according to Ashley John, the army's public affairs director for the Program Executive Officer - Ground Combat Systems. https://www.janes.com/article/85597/us-military-buys-additional-trophy-aps-rafael-pushes-light-version-for-bradley-and-stryker