Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Chicago Tribune
September 5, 2008
By James P. Miller, Tribune reporter
Navistar International Corp. said late Thursday that its defense segment has received a $752 million Pentagon contract to build a lighter, more mobile variant of its armored MRAP vehicle.
The Warrenville truck and engine maker is a leading provider of military MRAPs, or Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles, designed and armored to provide U.S. troops with better protection against the improvised roadside bombs that have proven so deadly against American soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The latest contract calls for Navistar to deliver 822 of the vehicles to the military by February 2009, for use in Afghanistan.
With Thursday's order, Navistar has since May 2007 received more than $3 billion in contracts to build 5,222 MRAPs.
While the standard versions of the highly armored vehicle provide additional protection, they are so heavy they face certain performance limitations.
Navistar said the order it received from the Marine Corps covers a version of its MaxxPro MRAP known as the MaxxPro Dash, designed to be lighter, with a smaller turning radius and other features.
The Dash version, Navistar said, has been equipped specifically for Afghanistan.
September 5, 2008
By James P. Miller, Tribune reporter
Navistar International Corp. said late Thursday that its defense segment has received a $752 million Pentagon contract to build a lighter, more mobile variant of its armored MRAP vehicle.
The Warrenville truck and engine maker is a leading provider of military MRAPs, or Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles, designed and armored to provide U.S. troops with better protection against the improvised roadside bombs that have proven so deadly against American soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The latest contract calls for Navistar to deliver 822 of the vehicles to the military by February 2009, for use in Afghanistan.
With Thursday's order, Navistar has since May 2007 received more than $3 billion in contracts to build 5,222 MRAPs.
While the standard versions of the highly armored vehicle provide additional protection, they are so heavy they face certain performance limitations.
Navistar said the order it received from the Marine Corps covers a version of its MaxxPro MRAP known as the MaxxPro Dash, designed to be lighter, with a smaller turning radius and other features.
The Dash version, Navistar said, has been equipped specifically for Afghanistan.