Navistar International Corporation announced today that its military subsidiary, International Military and Government, LLC, has received an incremental order from the U.S. Marine Corps for 755 additional Category I Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles valued at approximately $414 million to be delivered by the end of February 2008.
The current order brings International's total orders due by February 2008, to 1,971 MRAP's totaling over $1.045 billion. The International MaxxPro military vehicle is the Category I MRAP offering from International Military and Government designed to protect troops from roadside bombs and improvised explosive devices (IEDs).
"The urgency to rapidly deliver these life saving armored vehicles to our military forces is clear," said Daniel C. Ustian, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Navistar International Corporation. "We are working with the U.S. military and our supply base to increase our production capacity at our facilities to meet the aggressive demand and provide these MRAP vehicles into the hands of our Marines, soldiers and sailors as quickly as possible. Every day of production is critical. We are honored and proud to be providing these mission critical vehicles to the U.S. military."
International utilizes a state of the art modular armor concept, developed in conjunction with Plasan Sasa, to armor its MaxxPro vehicles. Plasan Sasa, a world-class provider of armor solutions, is rapidly expanding its capacity and focusing dedicated resources on meeting the increasing MRAP demand for MaxxPro vehicles. The design positions the v-shaped crew compartment on top of International's proven heavy-duty truck chassis. The v-shaped hull is designed to deflect blasts away from the truck to minimize impact around the crew area.
The MaxxPro powered by an International MaxxForce turbocharged diesel engine was designed around the following:
- Crew survivability. International's MaxxPro features unique and advanced armoring and design technology to protect occupants on the battlefield from today's threats.
- Mission accomplishment. International designed the MaxxPro vehicle with protection, versatility and reliability in mind.
- Capability for immediate high rate of production. As one of the largest commercial truck and engine manufacturers, International has a dedicated integration facility for military vehicle production and is able to rapidly ramp up production to meet the military's desired levels.
- Ease of service and superior life cycle value. It is vital for U.S. forces on the battlefield to get vehicles maintained and returned to action as quickly as possible. Internationals MRAP vehicles are designed with operational readiness in mind. Commonality and utilization of readily available and well proven truck components helps reduce the logistical footprint for parts and service which maximizes uptime.