Textron Systems [TXT] Marine & Land Systems (TM&LS) yesterday said it was awarded a $113.4 million firm-fixed-price contract from the Army Contracting Command, Warren, Mich., to produce an additional 135 Mobile Strike Force Vehicles (MSFV) for the Afghan National Army (ANA).
The vehicles are being contracted through the U.S. Army Foreign Military Sales (FMS) process.
The work will be done at TM&LS facilities in the New Orleans area, with vehicle deliveries scheduled through February 2014.
Three armored vehicle variants are being produced: MSFV with enclosed turret; MSFV with Objective Gunner’s Protection Kit; and an MSFV ambulance.
TM&LS was awarded a contract for Mobile Strike Force Vehicle full-rate production in May 2011. Since then, the company has been fulfilling contract orders for a total of 499 vehicles, the company said in a statement. More than 300 of these vehicles have been delivered, and are either in operations with ANA kandaks (battalions) or being fielded as part of a comprehensive in-country vehicle logistics support and operator training program.
“Several kandaks are fully trained and beginning to stand up Afghanistan’s quick reaction force capability,” said Tom Walmsley, TM&LS senior vice president and general manager. “These vehicles deliver a combination of lethality, survivability, mobility and sustainability crucial to the Army’s ability to effectively respond to security threats and maintain the peace.”
Gen. Sher Mohammad Karimi, chief of general staff of the ANA, speaking Feb. 6 at the International Armored Vehicles Conference in Farnborough, U.K., said high-end armored capabilities are “critical to the survival of the state to develop capabilities to fight insurgents.”
Karimi also said the MSFV has been “significantly upgraded from the original design to make it more survivable in the IED environment.”
Part of the TM&LS COMMANDO Select line of armored vehicles, the MSFV is derived from the M1117 Armored Security Vehicle (ASV).
Last month, TM&LS introduced two new Commando vehicles at IDEX (Defense Daily, Feb. 22).
All MSFVs are configured with Enhanced Survivability (ES) capability, which increases blast protection to mine-resistant, ambush-protected (MRAP) levels. The ES-equipped vehicles continue to possess the ASV’s original, all-important V-shaped hull design, in addition to innovative protection design features that enable them to meet MRAP blast protection standards.