Kratos receives M1A2 Abrams Main Battle Tank contract

source army-technology.com

August 22, 2011 SHEPARD GROUP

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc., a leading National Security Solutions provider, announced today that it has received a new multi-million dollar contract award from CAE USA for M1A2 Abrams Battle Tank maintenance training systems. Under the subcontract award, Kratos will provide Hands On Trainers (HOTs) hardware to CAE USA under its contract with the Army's Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training and Instrumentation (PEO STRI) for the delivery of maintenance trainers for the M1A2 Abrams System Enhancement Package (SEP) Version 2 (V2) and the M1A1 Abrams Situational Awareness (SA) main battle tanks. Following final hardware/software integration and testing by CAE USA, the systems will be delivered to the Maneuver Center of Excellence at Fort Benning, GA, the US Army Ordnance School at Fort Lee, VA and the Army National Guard Total Force Training Center at Gowen Field, ID. No additional information is provided due to customer specific and other considerations.

The M1A2 Abrams SEP V2 and M1A1 Abrams SA HOTs are both full fidelity trainers that provide a true-to-life environment for training and evaluating turret mechanics. The M1 Abrams trainers support all of the critical tasks necessary to train MOS (Military Occupational Specialty) maintenance specialists whose mission is to assure the performance and availability of these platforms.

The M1A2 Abrams SEP V2 and M1A1 Abrams SA are the latest version of the US Army's trusted line of Abrams main battle tanks. Kratos has extensive, in-depth knowledge of the Abrams Main Battle Tank, the Bradley Fighting Vehicle and many other ground combat systems. The M1A2 Abrams SEP V2 and M1A1 Abrams SA will be in production for the US Army at least through FY2013, with an additional modernization order currently scheduled for 2017. The life cycle expectancy for the Abrams Main Battle Tank is at least through 2025.

Phil Carrai, President of the Kratos Technology and Training Division, stated, "We are very pleased to work closely with CAE USA to assist the US Army to ensure the readiness, reliability and operational effectiveness of the M1A2 Abrams SEP V2 and M1A1 Abrams SA. As a leading manufacturer for maintenance training systems for over 10 years, Kratos is an established partner for high performance training systems. Kratos has again been selected as a key partner of CAE USA for the delivery of high performance training systems for the Abrams and Bradley platforms."

The award comes on the heels of a recent announcement that Kratos received $6.4 million in contract awards to support maintenance training for key US Army Aviation platforms, including its full-fidelity Black Hawk Avionics Trainer (BHAT-M) for the M model of the UH-60.

Kratos provides numerous training solutions to the US Army and other military services with a specific expertise in C5ISR and maintenance training solutions for mission critical Warfighter platforms such as the CH-47F Chinook, AH-64A Apache, M2/M3A2 ODS Bradley, M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) and M147 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS).