BAE contracted for Bradley protection kits

ARLINGTON, Va., Oct. 21 (UPI) -- The U.S. military has contracted BAE Systems for the installation of armor upgrades for Bradley fighting vehicles.

British company BAE was awarded $27.6 million in contracts to provide more than 800 Bradley fighting vehicles with the company's urban survivability protection kits. The contracts also include hot box restraint kits and fire suppression kits.

The protection kit contracts, which if all options are exercised could be worth more than $55 million, are for the military's Bradley vehicles deployed in combat zones in Iraq and Afghanistan and at bases in the United States.

"Urban combat poses a host of new challenges, but these kits -- with seats designed to resist blasts from roadside bombs, improvements in internal stowage and features to suppress vehicle fires -- can help save lives," Andy Hove, BAE vice president of combat systems programs, said in a statement.