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thedrifter
07-14-07, 07:05 AM
Marine Corps orders 1,170 MRAPs
By Kris Osborn - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Jul 13, 2007 19:52:02 EDT

Stewart and Stevenson Tactical Systems, a division of Jacksonville, Fla.-based Armor Holdings, has received a $518.5 million order to deliver 1,170 Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles by February, Marine Corps Systems Command announced July 13.

The SysCom contract award calls for 1,154 14-ton, 4X4 Category I vehicles and 16 larger 24-ton, 6X6 Category II MRAPs. The contract, the Marines’ largest MRAP order to date, brings the total number of MRAPs ordered to 4,935 since the program began last fall.

The Pentagon plans to order a total of 22,000 MRAPs, of which orders have been placed for about 5,000.

Armor Holdings will fill the order with their Caiman vehicle, which recently completed testing at Aberdeen Proving Grounds, Md., and which weighs less than its rivals, said Armor Holdings vice president Chris Chambers.

“We kept it lighter weight to emphasize tactical mobility. Our offering is based on the U.S. Army FMTV in terms of power train. Priority one is protection, but we also want to get them to the war-fighter as quickly as possible, so we based it on something that is in production, combat-proven and instantly supportable,” Chambers said in a May interview.

Armor Holdings officials declined comment on this MRAP order.

Armor Holdings is one of the nine MRAP-makers placed under an Indefinite Quantity/Indefinite Delivery contract in January, when vehicle-makers began submitting their offerings for testing.

Ellie