Hercules to lift US and Kuwaiti vehicles
BAE Systems is to provide 19 M88A2 Hercules armoured engineer vehicles to US FMS customer Kuwait and 19 more to the US Army, under a new $127 million contract.
Work begins immediately and will continue until 2023.
Shephard Defence Insight notes that Kuwait previously received 14 M88A2s between 1995 and 1996.
In all, 855 vehicles have been delivered to date worldwide; besides the US and Kuwait, other customers include Australia, Egypt, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Thailand.
The M88A2 Hercules is designed to recover combat vehicles weighing up to 70t. The vehicle ‘has been thoroughly proven through U.S. Army testing and combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan’, said Jennifer Ickes, BAE Systems programme director for recovery vehicles.
She added: ‘The stability and performance of the M88A2 is the world standard for recovery vehicles, and we’re committed to continuing to deliver this capability to the battlefield.’
As part of our promise to deliver comprehensive coverage to our Defence Insight and Premium News subscribers, our curated defence news content provides the latest industry updates, contract awards and programme milestones.
Related Equipment in Defence Insight
More from Land Warfare
-
Drone wars: countries are looking for answers but do companies have the solutions?
Manufacturers are speeding up their counter-drone development efforts as countries increasingly focus on procurements to provide battlefield and national protection.
-
Sweden seeks US HIMARS missile system to expand long-range strike capability
The proposed $920 million deal would provide Sweden with a step up from its existing tube artillery and align the country with other northern European nations that have selected the HIMARS platform.
-
Thales Storm 2 counter-drone system being evaluated by potential customers
The attack drone threat from first-person view uncrewed aerial systems has been highlighted by recent conflicts and Thales has adapted its Storm 2 counter-improvised explosive device jammer to provide protection.
-
Rolls-Royce to lead powertrain development for MGCS in important step for the programme
The move signals significant progress for the delayed Franco-German Main Ground Combat System programme with first powerpack prototypes set to be tested before the end of the decade.