DRS TECHNOLOGIES TO DEVELOP INITIAL CONDITION BASED MAINTENANCE CAPABILITY
31 Aug 06. DRS Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: DRS) announced today that it has been awarded a $10 million contract to develop and integrate a Condition Based Maintenance Information system for the U.S. Army’s ground combat vehicle fleet. The contract’s objectives are to develop a capability to monitor, record and communicate operating parameters to an enterprise logistics network and subsequently apply a set of decision-support tools to conduct logistics maintenance analyses for the U.S. Army’s Bradley Fighting Vehicles, Abrams Main Battle Tanks and Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles.
The contract was awarded to DRS by the U.S. Army Tank Automotive and Armaments Command Life Cycle Management Command (TACOM LCMC), Rock Island, Illinois, for the Program Manager, Heavy Brigade Combat Team in Warren, Michigan. For this award, DRS will integrate and demonstrate critical elements of a platform information management system that will be extended to help realize the Army’s vision for logistics transformation through this Condition Based Maintenance approach. This contract includes the system development, integration and initial field evaluation of the system in an operational brigade. Work for this contract will be performed by the company’s DRS Test & Energy Management unit in Huntsville, Alabama.
DRS Technologies is leading a team that includes International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE: IBM) and Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) and incorporates direct support from the vehicle prime contractors.
“This new contract expands upon our on- and off-board vehicle diagnostic solutions that have been provided to the U.S. Army for more than 25 years and assures that the current force of ground vehicles can be efficiently sustained around the world,” said Fred L. Marion, president of DRS’s Surveillance & Reconnaissance Group. “Our customer’s commitment to improved concepts for long-term ground weapon system sustainment is providing new opportunities to demonstrate DRS’s capabilities as a leading supplier of operational, maintenance and logistics improvements for the U.S. Army’s fleet of ground combat vehicles.”
The Condition Based Maintenance System will monitor and analyze the performance of combat vehicles and tactical systems, and will report vehicle information and status to an enterprise logistics network that can react to real or anticipated failures in a timely manner.
DRS produces a variety of on-vehicle, embedded diagnostic and off-vehicle automatic test equipment (ATE) designed to diagnose and repair electronic components installed on Army M1A1, M1A2 and M1A2 System Enhancement Program (SEP) Abrams Main Battle Tanks and Bradley M2/M3 Fighting Vehicle Systems, as well as U.S. Marine Corps’ Abrams tanks and Light Armored Vehicles (LAVs). Using this fielded equipment, the DRS-led team will leverage its diagnostic system to encompass all of the logistic and situational awareness features of a complete Condition Based Maintenance system that will enhance the operation and effectiveness of the tactical and combat vehicles of the current force.
The award of this contract further demonstrates DRS’s capabilities in the vehicle sector and will cement its abilities in the Rest area. DRS is believed to be looking abroad to expand its capabilities in this area with the U.K.’s Warrior and FRES projects being major targets.