Rheinmetall joins Canada's TAPV project

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DUSSELDORF, Germany, Oct. 31 (UPI) -- Rheinmetall AG of Germany and Textron Systems Canada Inc. have teamed for work on the Canadian Forces Tactical Armored Patrol Vehicle project.

A total of 500 armored vehicles will be produced under a Canadian government contract given in June to Textron Systems Canada. The arrangement is to provide overall TAPV program and configuration management, act as design authority for change management, coordinate vehicle integration activities by Canadian subcontractors and manage an in-service support contract.

Under the $204.9 million deal with Textron, Rheinmetall's Canadian subsidiary will perform critical engineering and production work in the production phase. It will also develop integrated logistics support products and act as the primary in-service support hub for the vehicle fleet.

Rheinmetall said it will perform final assembly and testing of the vehicles and integrate essential subsystems such as the remotely controlled weapon station, vehicle navigation system and driver vision enhancement system.

"This partnership with Textron Systems is of strategic importance to Rheinmetall Canada," said Rheinmetall Canada's president and chief executive officer, Andreas Knackstedt. "We are extremely pleased to work with Textron Systems delivering state-of-the-art equipment to the army, and value for taxpayers' money, while creating highly skilled jobs in Canada."

The production phase of the acquisition contract is expected to span from July 2014 to March 2016.

"Rheinmetall Canada is a key TAPV teammate and will remain so as we deliver the TAPV and related economic benefits to Canada," said Neil Rutter, general manager of Textron Systems Canada. "In the coming months, we will be signing many more agreements with other best-in-class Canadian suppliers who will help us deliver a fleet of Textron TAPVs that will provide Canadian soldiers with unmatched performance and protection for decades."