BAE Systems continues collecting funding for upgraded versions of the Army’s self-propelled howitzer with a $148.8 million contract to purchase materials in preparation for production of the M109A7 and its attendant ammunition carrier vehicle.
The Army on Jan. 31 awarded BAE the contract for the work to be completed at the company’s York, Pa., facility through November, 2022. A day earlier, the company was granted a $27 million contract modification for system technical support and sustainment systems technical support services for the Paladin Integrated Management family of vehicles.
A month prior, the Army made official the decision to enter full-rate production of both vehicles, though the program is technically still in low-rate production pending completion of the initial test and evaluation (IOT&E).
That $227 million contract was for 228 sets of M109A7 Paladins and M992A3 ammunition carriers under the PIM program. According to BAE, the contract for low-rate initial production (LRIP) year three is worth a total $413 million. The contract carries full-rate production options that if exercised would bring the total cumulative value to $1.7 billion.
As of December, the company had delivered 38 howitzers and 26 ammo carriers to the Army, according to Adam Zarfoss, the company’s vice president and general manager of U.S. combat vehicles. Most of those vehicles are in production qualification and verification testing in preparation for initial operational test and evaluation (IOT&E), which is expected to wrap up in March 2018.
The M109A7 is an upgrade of the M109A6 Paladin Self-Propelled Howitzer. It uses the existing main armament and cab structure of the M109A6, but replaces the vehicle’s chassis structure with a new design that increases survivability and allows for the integration of drive-train and suspension components common to the Bradley.
PIM and the A7 configurations also integrate a significant boost in onboard power to support future growth, including the eventual addition of a larger main cannon that should result from the Army’s extended-range cannon programs. The Army will purchase and integrate that cannon under a separate contract.