Oshkosh Corp. [OSK] announced it met the November MRAP All Terrain Vehicle (M-ATV) production requirement ahead of schedule on Nov. 19.
This marks the fifth consecutive month the company has exceeded the accelerated M-ATV delivery schedule, the company said.
Oshkosh will continue to increase production to meet December’s requirement of 1,000 vehicles, with output remaining at that level through April 2010.
Oshkosh received the M-ATV production award and its first delivery order on June 30 (Defense Daily, July 1). Since then, the company has been manufacturing vehicles at unprecedented levels to meet an urgent need in Afghanistan and supply the 6,219 well-protected, highly mobile M-ATVs that have been ordered to date.
“As M-ATVs continue arriving in Afghanistan, our production operations are ramping up and Oshkosh will soon reach the planned 1,000 vehicles per month,” said Robert Bohn, Oshkosh Corp. chairman and CEO.
“Our decades of proven experience, a highly skilled workforce and available production capacity in our facilities ensure we will meet our customer’s needs for this program.”
Existing Oshkosh Corporation manufacturing facilities have available production capacity for all current and pending military vehicle programs, including M-ATV and the Army’s Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles (FMTV), as well as any surges in production. The Army award of the FMTV competitive rebuy in August is under protest (Defense Daily, Aug. 28).
As a longtime manufacturer of next-generation vehicles, Oshkosh can incorporate advanced technologies as needed with each delivery order.
In addition to exceeding the M-ATV’s production requirements, Oshkosh has received orders to provide spare-parts kits and in-theater Field Service Representatives (FSR) to support full life-cycle sustainment of the program.
Oshkosh has the experience and infrastructure in place in the theater of operation to provide the necessary level of support required, from parts supply to remanufacturing, the company statement said.
Oshkosh Defense has teamed with Israel’s Plasan North America to provide an advanced armor solution for the M-ATV. Plasan also developed the armor system used on more than 5,000 legacy MRAPs and thousands of Oshkoshr Medium Tactical Vehicle Replacement Armored Cabs already in theater.