DoD Doubles Potential Buy of Light MRAPs
(NSI News Source Info) November 15, 2008: The Pentagon's interest in lightweight Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles has skyrocketed.
When the effort to find an MRAP that could handle rough Afghan terrain began last summer, U.S. Department of Defense buyers sought up to 5,000 vehicles. But a summary of an upcoming request for bids that went out Nov. 13 calls for buying "up to 10,000" of the 7- to 10-ton troop transporters. That could mean lightweight MRAP orders could nearly match the 12,000 original 14- to 24-ton MRAPs.
The request specifies a high level of protection - enough to deflect explosively formed projectiles - and gives the program a name: MRAP All-Terrain Vehicles (M-ATV).
"The warfighters [in Afghanistan] need help and we are almost done delivering MRAPs. They need something a little smaller, more off-road capable and still survivable," said a senior Pentagon official familiar with the program.
The formal request for proposals will be issued before Dec. 1, the summary said.
MRAP program managers, who are running the M-ATV program, plan to award up to five indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contracts to deliver vehicles for testing early next year. Orders will ultimately be placed for 2,080 to 10,000 vehicles, the summary said.
"At the completion of testing, the government plans to select from the IDIQ contractors a single M-ATV producer but may, at its discretion, place production orders with multiple producers," it said.
The M-ATV program plans to replicate the MRAPs' rapid production and delivery, the senior official said.
Once again, firms that can build quickly will have a leg up, the senior official said.
The summary said vendors will be asked to build up to 1,000 M-ATVs per month.
Known contenders include a lighter version of Navistar's MaxxPro Dash MRAP, Oshkosh's 9-ton Sandcat vehicle, Force Protection's 8-ton Cheetah vehicle and Lockheed-BAE's submission to the Pentagon's Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) program, among others.
Textron's new, better-protected Armored Security Vehicle could also be a strong contender, said Daniel Goure, vice president of the Lexington Institute, a Virginia-based think tank.
"Even an early version of the ASV is already operating in Afghanistan," Goure said. "It is small and light and it does things you cannot do with any of the MRAPs. And it is a hot production line."
The big uptick in potential orders was caused by the planned addition of up to 20,000 troops to Afghanistan next year, the Pentagon official said.
"I think they are revisiting the Afghan strategy right now; Gen. [David] Petraeus and his CentCom [Central Command] advisors are looking at this," said U.S. Army Gen. Ann Dunwoody, the new commander of Army Materiel Command, Fort Belvoir, Va. "I think the most critical shortages are with trucks. We're growing and our formations are growing faster than we can keep up with the sourcing. Given the two different terrains, Iraq and Afghanistan, the same vehicle doesn't fit in both environments. I know the Army has gone to industry and said, 'Here is what we need.' We are working with industry to see how fast they can deliver a different kind of technology. Everyone is always ready for something that will give our soldiers better force protection."
But such a huge new purchase of tactical wheeled vehicles could upset the Army's buying plans, Goure said. Large parts of the plan "has been overtaken by events," with the relatively recent decisions to buy MRAPs and now, M-ATVs, Goure said.
The large potential purchase might even affect the number of Joint Light Tactical Vehicles, the planned next-generation mainstay of the Army's tactical fleet. The JLTV program is currently on hold due to contract protests.
The contracts also could help M-ATV builders compete for JLTV work, Goure said.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
DoD Doubles Potential Buy of Light MRAPs
DoD Doubles Potential Buy of Light MRAPs
(NSI News Source Info) November 15, 2008: The Pentagon's interest in lightweight Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles has skyrocketed.
When the effort to find an MRAP that could handle rough Afghan terrain began last summer, U.S. Department of Defense buyers sought up to 5,000 vehicles. But a summary of an upcoming request for bids that went out Nov. 13 calls for buying "up to 10,000" of the 7- to 10-ton troop transporters. That could mean lightweight MRAP orders could nearly match the 12,000 original 14- to 24-ton MRAPs.
The request specifies a high level of protection - enough to deflect explosively formed projectiles - and gives the program a name: MRAP All-Terrain Vehicles (M-ATV).
"The warfighters [in Afghanistan] need help and we are almost done delivering MRAPs. They need something a little smaller, more off-road capable and still survivable," said a senior Pentagon official familiar with the program.
The formal request for proposals will be issued before Dec. 1, the summary said.
MRAP program managers, who are running the M-ATV program, plan to award up to five indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contracts to deliver vehicles for testing early next year. Orders will ultimately be placed for 2,080 to 10,000 vehicles, the summary said.
"At the completion of testing, the government plans to select from the IDIQ contractors a single M-ATV producer but may, at its discretion, place production orders with multiple producers," it said.
The M-ATV program plans to replicate the MRAPs' rapid production and delivery, the senior official said.
Once again, firms that can build quickly will have a leg up, the senior official said.
The summary said vendors will be asked to build up to 1,000 M-ATVs per month.
Known contenders include a lighter version of Navistar's MaxxPro Dash MRAP, Oshkosh's 9-ton Sandcat vehicle, Force Protection's 8-ton Cheetah vehicle and Lockheed-BAE's submission to the Pentagon's Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) program, among others.
Textron's new, better-protected Armored Security Vehicle could also be a strong contender, said Daniel Goure, vice president of the Lexington Institute, a Virginia-based think tank.
"Even an early version of the ASV is already operating in Afghanistan," Goure said. "It is small and light and it does things you cannot do with any of the MRAPs. And it is a hot production line."
The big uptick in potential orders was caused by the planned addition of up to 20,000 troops to Afghanistan next year, the Pentagon official said.
"I think they are revisiting the Afghan strategy right now; Gen. [David] Petraeus and his CentCom [Central Command] advisors are looking at this," said U.S. Army Gen. Ann Dunwoody, the new commander of Army Materiel Command, Fort Belvoir, Va. "I think the most critical shortages are with trucks. We're growing and our formations are growing faster than we can keep up with the sourcing. Given the two different terrains, Iraq and Afghanistan, the same vehicle doesn't fit in both environments. I know the Army has gone to industry and said, 'Here is what we need.' We are working with industry to see how fast they can deliver a different kind of technology. Everyone is always ready for something that will give our soldiers better force protection."
But such a huge new purchase of tactical wheeled vehicles could upset the Army's buying plans, Goure said. Large parts of the plan "has been overtaken by events," with the relatively recent decisions to buy MRAPs and now, M-ATVs, Goure said.
The large potential purchase might even affect the number of Joint Light Tactical Vehicles, the planned next-generation mainstay of the Army's tactical fleet. The JLTV program is currently on hold due to contract protests.
The contracts also could help M-ATV builders compete for JLTV work, Goure said.
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