Reset mission

The

has awarded

a contract worth $601m (£387m) to refurbish a number of its heavy infantry vehicles.

Through a public-private partnership with the army’s Red River Army Depot in Texas, BAE Systems will repair and upgrade 606 Bradley Fighting Vehicles. This process, known in the military as reset, mitigates the effect of combat use, replaces battle-damaged vehicles and provides the military with vehicles in pre-deployment conditions.

‘The Bradley plays an integral role in the army’s Heavy Brigade Combat Teams,’ said Joe McCarthy, vice-president and general manager, Heavy Brigade Combat Team (HBCT) Systems. ‘By resetting these vehicles to pre-deployment condition, we will make sure that our troops are able to continue to execute the mission.’

Under this award, BAE Systems will reset 346 Bradley A3 vehicles, 141 A2 ODS vehicles and 119 A2 ODS SA vehicles. Initial disassembly and subsystem rebuild will be performed at the Red River Army Depot, with final disassembly and structural modifications completed by BAE Systems in Fayette County, Pennsylvania. Final assembly, integration and testing will be conducted at the company’s facility in York, Pennsylvania.

During final assembly in York, Bradley vehicles will also be equipped with upgrades including improvised explosive device armour, Bradley urban survivability kits and other engineering changes designed to improve protection for soldiers.

Work on the contract will begin immediately and BAE Systems will start to deliver completed vehicles to the military this summer, with final deliveries expected to be completed by March 2010.