United Defense wins contract to upgrade 138 Bradley vehicles
Bradley fighting vehicles are the bulwark of mobile forces in the U.S. war with Iraq, but they also play a part in Fayette County’s economy. United Defense Industries Inc. on Route 119 north of Uniontown refurbishes the military vehicles, which are then redeployed among the American armed forces.
On Friday, United Defense announced receiving a “contract modification’ worth $197.3 million to remanufacture 138 Bradleys, under the third year of a multi-year contract.
Work on the contract will be performed at United Defense facilities in Uniontown, York, Santa Clara, Calif., and Aiken, S.C. The Uniontown plant employs about 100 people.
However, while battles rage in Iraq, it’s business as usual at the local plant.
“In general, with this kind of conflict, we don’t tend to see a significant amount of activity. We are not really anticipating a lot of near-term impact,’ said Herb Muktarian, United Defense manager of communications.
“What ends up happening down the road, well, it’s too early to speculate about what things might look like,’ he added.
“We are currently working on Bradleys in the Uniontown facility, and clearly the Bradley is deployed with the Army in Iraq,’ Muktarian said.
However, when interviewed, Muktarian indicated there might be some forthcoming news.
A day later, he issued the press statement about the contract.
This modification from the U.S. Army’s Tank-automotive and Armaments Command calls up fiscal year 2003 vehicles, providing for 103 Bradley M3A3 cavalry vehicles and 35 Bradley M2A3 infantry vehicles.
The Bradley multi-year corporate contract, issued in mid-2001, ultimately will cover the manufacture of 389 Bradley A3 vehicles and up to 77 other variants of the Bradley system over the full three-year contract. Deliveries for the third year call-up are scheduled to begin in July 2004 and continue through December 2005.
While work continues at the local plant, Muktarian would not comment on security there.
“We actually never talk about security issues,’ he said, “well, for security reasons.’
United Defense reconfigures AO Bradley fighting vehicles into modernized A2ODS vehicles for the Army National Guard, remanufactures ribbon bridges for the U.S. Marines and produces training simulators for self-propelled howitzers, all at its plant in the Greater Uniontown Industrial Park.
“The Bradley M2A3 and M3A3 bring superior technology to our ultimate customer, the soldier in the field.
“These upgraded Bradley vehicles further enhance the capabilities of our forces,” said Michael Tanda, director of Bradley programs for United Defense.
The Bradley A3, in either the M2 infantry variant or the M3 cavalry variant, is a technologically advanced, highly mobile, digital fighting vehicle that significantly increases lethality and survivability.
The A3 travels effectively over a variety of terrains, with a maximum speed of nearly 40 mph.
The A3 features automatic dual target tracking, automatic gun target adjustment and automatic sighting capabilities. On board communications systems enable digital information displays for the commander, driver and squad leader.
The A3 features improved driver’s day and night vision for better maneuverability and a 360-degree commander’s independent viewer that speeds targeting for the commander and gunner.
United Defense, headquartered in Arlington, Va., employs about 5,300 people worldwide.
The local plant opened in 1993.