USA Buying 169 More RG-31 Pathfinder Blast-Resistant Vehicles
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General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada delivered 148 RG-31 vehicles to the U.S. Army in 2005. In October 2006, TACOM awarded General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada a contract for US$ 27.2 million to provide 60 RG-31 Mk5 mine-resistant patrol vehicles, used by EOD teams and by the 101st Airborne as patrol vehicles; the Mk5 has improved power and payload capabilities in comparison to its predecessors. In November 2006, this order was increased to 94 vehicles for an additional US$ 15.4 million, an addition that is included in DID’s order coverage. We also covered the in-theater experience of Canada’s RG-31 Nyala route proving vehicles, which have stood up to car bombs as well as IED land mines in Afghanistan, and discussed the difference between vehicle that are merely up-armored vs. blast-resistant vehicles like the RG-31 in the above photo. Blast-resistant vehicles are experiencing a wave of purchases by NATO countries for use in combat zones like Afghanistan, Iraq, et. al., largely due to the revealed weaknesses of more conventional designs.
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Now the U.S. Army Tank Automotive and Armaments Command (TACOM), in support of the Program Executive Office for Combat Support and Combat Service Support (PEO CS&CSS), has awarded General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada a US$ 76.5 million contract for 169 more RG-31 Mk5 Mine Protected Vehicles, with an option for 9 additional vehicles. The RG-31’s American designation is “RG-31 Pathfinder.”
Like previous RG-31 contracts, this one was signed through a Crown Agency of the Canadian Government, the Canadian Commercial Corporation. Under that contract, General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada will provide the program management, while BAE Land Systems OMC of South Africa will manufacture the vehicles. Deliveries will occur from January – April 2007. General Dynamics release.
