Textron refurbishing Army ASVs

NEW ORLEANS, Oct. 14 (UPI) -- Nearly 400 U.S. Army M1117 Armored Security Vehicles will undergo refurbishment under a $19.8 million award to Textron Marine & Land Systems.

The base value of the award from U.S. Army Tank-automotive and Armaments Command could, however, with the exercise of two option years and for emergent work, depending on the condition of vehicles inducted into the program.

The M1117 Armored Security Vehicle reset program is designed to reverse the effects of combat stress on ASVs while also giving the Army, if desired, the ability to apply vehicle survivability, safety and mobility enhancements.

The objective is to return these ASVs to fully mission-capable, combat-ready assets, regardless of their current condition.

Work will be performed at Textron Marine & Land Systems in New Orleans.

"We value the trust our Army customer has in our team to apply its knowledge and experience in getting these ASVs back into the hands of our soldiers as quickly and efficiently as possible," said Textron Marine & Land Systems Senior Vice President and General Manager Tom Walmsley.

"As the result of our initial ASV reset work, we've developed a comprehensive set of procedures, tooling and test equipment for M1117 vehicles. These resources, together with personnel uniquely qualified to apply lessons learned from ASV production and reset efforts, decreases execution risk, and reduces overall program costs for the Army."

In 2008, Textron Marine & Land Systems, in collaboration with Red River Army Depot, executed a six vehicle ASV reset pilot program for TACOM. In 2010, Textron successfully refurbished an additional 12 ASVs.

Textron Marine & Land Systems has delivered 3,327 M1117 ASVs to the U.S. Army, as well as related vehicles to military and police forces in Iraq, Colombia and Bulgaria.