Initial delivery order for 2,244 M-ATVs won by Oshkosh Defense

07:49 GMT, July 1, 2009 In one of the US Army’s major procurement programmes – a “high priority accelerated acquisition” as the Pentagon calls it – the Wisconsin-based Oshkosh Defense has been awarded the contract for the Army’s intensive testing of various production-ready vehicles. As part of a $1.05 billion initial delivery order, Oshkosh will manufacture 2,244 MRAP All-Terrain Vehicles or M-ATVs, a vehicle designed to provide the Army with enhanced mobility and flexibility in the rugged terrain of Afghanistan. It will partly replace and partly complement the rather heavy Mine-Resistant, Ambush-Protected vehicle (MRAPs), which has proven to be very useful in Iraq but not in the mountainous conditions of Afghanistan.

In November 2008 the US Department of Defense (DoD) invited manufacturers to participate in an open tender for the multi-billion dollar competition for the delivery of up to 10,000 vehicles. Some of the country’s most well-known companies submitted proposals for vehicles that could undergo survivability and mobility evaluation. Besides Oshkosh Defense, companies such as BAE Systems, Navistar Defense and Force Dynamics (FD) – a joint venture between Force Protection and General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) – answered the call. defpro.com presented a brief overview on these contesters and their solutions in early May (see http://www.defpro.com/daily/details/303/).


The race is not entirely over yet

Now that the decision has been made in favour of the Oskhosh solution, work can begin immediately as the timeline is narrow. “Oshkosh Corporation will put whatever resources are necessary to meet or exceed the government’s [accelerated] delivery schedule. While we believe we can meet or exceed the government’s current delivery requirements, we intend to enter into discussions with other manufacturers to determine if they can assist in the production of the Oshkosh M-ATV,” said Robert G. Bohn, chairman and CEO of parent company Oshkosh Corporation. As this has only been the first step in what is expected to be a succession of several tranche orders, the major competitors have not given up hope for the next tranches’ manufacturing contracts.

According to the Financial Times, BAE Systems – which had been expected to win at least part of the order for the initial tranche – said in a statement that it looked forward to a “full briefing” on the decision by the DoD some time this week and that it would continue to work on “future development and manufacturing opportunities” for its land systems. BAE has experienced considerable success with its MRAP vehicles in the US market. Yet, due to the Obama administration’s decision to pull out of Iraq soon and to focus on Afghanistan, orders for the heavy vehicles have slowed down.

Navistar Defense, which had gained recognition for the rapid delivery of 6,444 MRAP vehicles since 2007, expressed disappointment with the decision in a company press release, further saying “While we recognize we can’t win every new program, if it has a diesel engine and wheels, we will pursue it.” Consequently, it announced it would further grow its business, even though it was not selected to produce vehicles for the M-ATV programme.

However, Oshkosh now has a head start in the race for upcoming vehicle contracts and is considered to be well-positioned for other US vehicle procurement programmes such as replacement of the Humvee family of trucks as part of the US Army and Marine Corps Joint Light Tactical Vehicle programme.


The Oshkosh Defense solution

The Oshkosh solution centres on its Medium Tactical Vehicle Replacement (MTVR) chassis, which has been operating off-road in Afghanistan as well as around the world for several years (see http://www.defpro.com/news/details/4800/). Oshkosh first fielded the MTVR nearly 10 years ago as a next-generation replacement for the medium tactical fleet deployed by the Marine Corps. In a recent interview with Andy Hove, Oshkosh Corporation executive vice president and president of Oshkosh Defense, published by defpro.com (see http://www.defpro.com/daily/details/338/), Mr Hove explained: “We incorporated vehicle components and technologies from our mission-proven vehicles to ensure our non-developmental M-ATV excels in the program’s two key requirements: mobility and survivability.”

In order to achieve the off-road mobility that soldiers and Marines need in Afghanistan, Oshkosh integrated its TAK-4 independent suspension system onto the vehicle. The TAK-4 suspension system is used on more than 10,000 Medium Tactical Vehicle Replacements (MTVR) supplied to the Marines and Seabees, as well as on the Marines’ Logistics Vehicle System Replacement (LVSR) and the Army’s next-generation Palletized Load System (PLS).
Oshkosh Defense teamed with Plasan North America for the M-ATV armour system to provide an advanced armour solution. Plasan also developed the armour system used on more than 5,000 legacy MRAPs and thousands of Oshkosh Armoured Cab MTVRs already deployed. Oshkosh performed more than 7,500 miles of independent off-road testing to identify possible enhancements for the vehicle so it would meet or surpass the performance requirements in the rugged terrain of Afghanistan.


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Related news:

Oshkosh Corporation Wins $1.05 Billion Delivery Order to Supply M-ATV to Soldiers, Marines
http://www.defpro.com/news/details/8386/

Navistar Defense Disappointed with M-ATV Selection
http://www.defpro.com/news/details/8387/

Force Protection Comments U.S. Amry's Decision on M-ATV Competition
http://www.defpro.com/news/details/8404/