Article Posted on : - May 12, 2010

M1117 Armored Security Vehicle (left) and M1200 Armored Knight.

NEW ORLEANS (BNS): US Army has awarded a $461 million worth contract to the Textron Marine & Land Systems, an operating unit of Textron Systems for the procurement of M1117 Armored Security Vehicle (ASV) and M1200 Armored Knight.

The defence contract includes an exercised option for 423 vehicles (327 M1117s and 96 M1200s) with provisions for future options of up to 272 more vehicles, according to a statement by the US Department of Defense (DoD).

"The ASV, which effectively addresses the US Army's current requirements in the overseas and has significant upgrade potential to mitigate emerging threats, is seeing an ever-expanding combat mission roles for the US Army in Iraq and Afghanistan," said Textron Marine & Land Systems General Manager Tom Walmsley, in a company statement.

The current order is an addition to a base order previously awarded under a letter contract award of 191 M1117 ASVs and 65 M1200 Armored Knight vehicles, field support and special sustainment tools, as well as technical and field services.

The armoured security vehicles will be manufactured at Slidell in Louisiana and the delivery of these latest vehicles are expected to commence on October 2010.

The ASV is a 4X4 wheeled armoured vehicle which offers significant crew protection through the employment of multiple layers of armour, defending against small arms fire, artillery projectile fragments, Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) and land mines. The ASV possesses superior mobility, agility, handling and ride quality through the utilisation of a four-wheel independent suspension system.