Navistar Defense to Deliver 822 Lighter MRAP Vehicles One Month Ahead of Schedule
Category: Defence Industry
WARRENVILLE, Ill. -- Navistar Defense, LLC will deliver on its contract for 822 International® MaxxPro™ Dash Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles one month ahead of schedule to aid urgent needs in Afghanistan. Originally scheduled to be completed by the end of February 2009, the company has leveraged its extensive relationships with its supply base to provide the government with an even more aggressive delivery schedule.
The company is now committed to delivering all units by the end of January.
Navistar has worked around the clock since receipt of this award and on Tuesday delivered 70 units – two weeks in advance of its already aggressive delivery schedule.
“Navistar is prepared to rapidly provide the U.S. and its allies with MRAP vehicles at a time when hostilities call for more troops in Afghanistan,” said Archie Massicotte, president, Navistar Defense. “The Navistar team is going after an aggressive delivery commitment and we will be successful due to our partnering with the supply base. We are driven to provide our fighting men and women with the equipment they need as soon as possible.”
The MaxxPro Dash, a lighter, more mobile Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) variant was designed especially for the rugged terrain in Afghanistan. The Dash maintains the survivability system used on all MaxxPro MRAP variants while also allowing for greater mobility. A smaller turning radius and higher torque-to-weight ratio are among the improvements to its mobility. MaxxPro Dash is also capable of accommodating additional up-armoring. Supportability and maintainability are maximized with a high-degree of commonality of parts among all MaxxPro variants.
The MaxxPro Dash is the sixth variant in 18 months from Navistar’s MaxxPro MRAP vehicle platform. Since the initial contract in May 2007, Navistar has won more than $3 billion in contracts to produce a total of 6,044 MaxxPro vehicles.