General Dynamics [GD] Land Systems-Canada announced it has received a $67.3 million contract modification to provide 111 RG-31 Mk5 E Mine Protected Vehicles.

The Army TACOM Life Cycle Management Command (LCMC), in support of the Program Executive Office for Combat Support and Combat Service Support (PEO CS&CSS), issued the modification to GDLS-Canada through the Canadian Commercial Corp., a Crown Agency of the Canadian Government.

GDLS-Canada will provide the program management while BAE Systems of South Africa will manufacture the vehicles.

Deliveries will occur from August 2008 to October 2008.

Since February 2005, the TACOM LCMC has ordered RG-31 vehicles based on Operational Need Statements (ONS) by the U.S. Army for route clearance vehicles. This is the third ONS requirement supported by TACOM LCMC. Under the previous ONS 1 and ONS 2, 148 RG-31 Mk3 and 307 RG-31 Mk5 vehicles were ordered.

In total, including this modification, 566 RG-31 vehicles have been ordered to meet the ONS requirement.

The 111 RG-31 Mk5E vehicles ordered under ONS 3 are similar to the 600 RG-31 Mk5E vehicles ordered by the U.S. Marine Corps Systems Command (MCSC) for its Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle program.