BAE Systems to upgrade Bradley Fighting Vehicles

BAE Systems has announced that it has received a contract modification to upgrade 353 Bradley Fighting Vehicles for the US Minnesota and Pennsylvania National Guard units, and Combined Armed Battalions for the Kansas, South Carolina and Ohio National Guard units. The contract, worth $306, is in addition to $340 million in funding the company has received to purchase upgrade materials for the Bradley programme, bringing the full contract total to $646 million. BAE Systems announced the news 13 August 2012.

As the systems integrator, BAE Systems will upgrade Bradley Operation Desert Storm M2A2, M3A2 and M7 Bradley Fire Support Team vehicles to Operation Desert Storm Situational Awareness (ODS-SA) configurations. The Bradley ODS-SA upgrade integrates the latest digitised electronics providing soldiers with optimal situational awareness, network connectivity and enhanced communication hardware. According to the company, its proven durability and commonality of design reduces logistics burden, while enhancing battlefield performance to meet a variety of mission requirements in close-combat, urban scenarios and open-combat situations.

The contract was awarded by the US Army TACOM Life Cycle Management Command and final delivery is expected to take place in April 2014.