Posted on 07/09/2005 11:32:49 AM PDT by klpt
General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products Inc. in Burlington, VT received a $37.8 million modification to a firm-fixed-price contract for Reactive Applique Armor Tiles for the M2/M3 Bradley Fighting Vehicle System. The Bradleys and AAV7 APCs, which played a central role in the armed operations in Iraq, have been fitted with armor by Rafael of Haifa, Israel in partial cooperation with the American General Dynamics company.
The armor is some of the most advanced in the world, and includes both passive protection of strong material that diverts the rocket, and reactive protection comprised of plates that contain explosives. The add-on armor consists of 105 tiles that attach to the sides, the turret and the front of each Bradley. The tiles, which look like small boxes, contain a very special, insensitive explosive that is detonated only when hit by a missile or rocket and does not react to other heat sources such as small arms or other fragments. The resulting explosion disrupts the incoming, armor-penetrating gas jet produced by a RPG's shaped-charge warhead, for example, so the Bradley remains unharmed.
The US Army is very pleased with the results, according a release from the US Program Executive Office Ground Combat Systems (PEO-GCS), and Rafael's performance and delivery won it a letter of recognition from the U.S. Army. The rush deliveries were part of the US military's effort to slow the damage done by roadside mines, explosive charges and rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) in Iraq.
Rafael first began applying reactive armor technology immediately after the 1973 Yom Kippur War, when the Israeli military realized its older-model tanks were vulnerable to missiles and rockets. Israel became the world's first army to use reactive armor, but kept it secret until Syrian forces captured an Israeli tank in Lebanon.
Since then, Rafael has continuously improved its technology and applied it to numerous programs in Israel and abroad. Rafael has been working with General Dynamics since 1994 to provide reactive armor sets for the U.S. Army Bradleys.
The team received an earlier $19.4 million order from the U.S. Army's TACOM / ARDEC Picatinny Arsenal, covering procurement of 56 reactive armor vehicle sets and 170 partial sets for the Bradley Fighting Vehicle. That contract also included funding for the qualification and first-article testing of a product upgrade to further improve crew and vehicle survivability over the current design.
Work on this contract modification will be performed in Haifa, Israel (38%), Burlington, VT (36%), Lyndonville, VT (13%), Graham, KY (6%), and Albany, OR (7%) and is expected to be complete by Oct. 31, 2006. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This was a sole source contract initiated on April 21, 2005. The U.S. Army Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command in Picatinny Arsenal, NJ issued the contract (W15QKN-05-C-1166).
Treadhead ping
Picatinney Arsenal isn't far from me.
Their police blotter reads like the security perimeter of a bug zapper.
Just about every day someone is trying to be clever and sneak through the truck gate.
That they got a new contract is excellent.
And even better news is the upgrade armor.
Thanks for the ping!
It appears the slat "stand-off" armor on the Strykers works pretty well; I haven't heard whether they are getting reactive armor in Iraq. Similarly, I haven't heard of Brads or 113s getting the slat armor. Be interesting to see if there is enuf data of actual hits & damage to do a comparison of the different systems.
Glad to see Oregon got a little piece of the pie. Good to see the armor is being enhanced.
RA will not work on the Styker. The hull is not sturdy enough to withstand the explosive force of the tiles.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.