BAE wins new Bradley BATS training deal

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ORLANDO, Fla., April 2 (UPI) -- BAE Systems said Tuesday it has won a $7 million U.S. Army contract to upgrade 34 Bradley vehicle training systems.

The contract is for work on 34 previously used Bradley Advanced Training Systems and on 17 BATS systems in the process of being constructed, the company said in a statement.

The new work will improve the command and control function of the systems, and adapt them to the Bradley tactical code. The new systems are designed to aid in the training of both commanders and gunners to operate the vehicles and help their training in preparation for active service in desert, city and forest conditions, the company said.

"These advanced training devices give our soldiers unique training for the Bradley Fighting Vehicles in urban operations," said Mark Russell, director of Training Systems for BAE Systems. "Now soldiers can train in a safe yet very realistic environment before meeting the challenges of today's battlefield."

The U.S. Army Program Executive Office of Simulation, Training and Instrumentation has now issued contracts for Bradley Training Systems worth a total of $34.4 million.

BAE Systems said it would carry out the BATS upgrade program and the planned software and hardware boosts at its plant in Orlando, Fla. The company said its Orland plant specialized in offering what it called "full service virtual, live, and constructive training systems" for the U.S. armed forces and homeland security agencies, as well as offering training for the Pentagon's new high-tech Future Combat Systems program.