Vehicles Helping to Protect Troops in Iraq
Wilmington, Mass. - December 10, 2004 - Textron Marine & Land (TM&L) of New Orleans, Louisiana, an operating unit of Textron Systems, today announced that it has been awarded two more contracts by the U.S. Army Tank-Automotive & Armaments Command (TACOM) to manufacture an additional 23 and 27 M117 Armored Security Vehicles (ASV), respectively. All 50 vehicles have been designated for use by the U.S. Army Military Police, and are potentially worth up to $36 million, subject to final contract terms.
The newly contracted 50 vehicles will be delivered by January 2006, bringing the total number of U.S. Army ASVs fielded, in production, or ordered to 182.
B. Clay Moise, Textron Marine & Land's vice president of marine and combat vehicles, stated "We currently have 77 ASVs serving in Iraq and we're very proud that the vehicle is playing such an important role in helping to protect our U.S. soldiers. We've received an overwhelming amount of positive customer feedback regarding the ASV's superior levels of crew protection and mobility, and we welcome continued opportunities to deliver even more vehicles in the future." From its recent delivery schedule of one vehicle every three weeks, Textron has increased production to approximately one ASV per week and is prepared to produce at least 36 per month by the fourth quarter of 2005, if required.
About the ASV
The ASV is a 4X4 wheeled armored vehicle that offers exceptional crew protection with multiple layers of armor that provide defense against medium caliber armor-piercing machine gun fire, large artillery fragments, and land mines. This advanced armor is exceedingly lightweight and allows the vehicle to be able to "roll on/roll off" military transport aircraft. The ASV possesses superior mobility, agility, handling and ride quality through the utilization of a new all-wheel independent suspension. Textron Cadillac Gage has equipped the ASV with a specially designed dual-weapon station that, unlike many other vehicles, enables all ammunition reload to be performed under armor and allows the crew to remain protected from enemy fire. About Textron Systems www.systems.textron.com
Textron Systems Corporation, a Textron company, provides innovative technology solutions to meet the needs of the global aerospace and defense industries. The company supports military precision engagement and dominant maneuver with strike weapons, mobility and surveillance systems. The Textron name is well known in the areas of advanced weapons, surveillance systems, aircraft control components, specialty marine craft and armored vehicles.
About Textron Inc. www.textron.com
Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) is a $10 billion multi-industry company with more than 43,000 employees in nearly 40 countries. The company leverages its global network of aircraft, industrial and finance businesses to provide customers with innovative solutions and services. Textron is known around the world for its powerful brands such as Bell Helicopter, Cessna Aircraft, Kautex, Lycoming, E-Z-GO and Greenlee, among others.