USMC selects Oshkosh P-19R ARFF vehicles

Oshkosh Defense will supply the P-19 Replacement Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF) vehicle to the US Marine Corps under a new $192 million contract announced on 31 May. The P-19R vehicles will replace the US Marine Corps’ current ARFF vehicles as they reach the end of their service life.

Based on the Oshkosh Logistics Vehicle System Replacement (LVSR) platform and Striker firefighting systems from Oshkosh Airport Products, the P-19R will be used by the US Marine Corps as a first-response vehicle in aircraft fire emergencies at military bases and expeditionary airfields.

The new vehicle will provide more advanced on-road and off-road firefighting capabilities to the force. It has been developed using the Oshkosh TAK-4 independent suspension system to deliver exceptional mobility for off-runway response situations, and the Command Zone integrated diagnostics and automation system to increase the crew’s situational awareness and help them carry out firefighting missions.

John Urias, Oshkosh Corporation executive vice president and president of Oshkosh Defense, said: ‘Oshkosh has been supporting the P-19 ARFF fleet for more than 30 years, and we are honoured that the US Marine Corps has selected Oshkosh to provide a new generation of emergency response capabilities.

‘Oshkosh leveraged product and engineering expertise from both our Defense and Airport Products teams to respond to the P-19R solicitation. The Oshkosh P-19R delivers a modern, expeditionary platform with advanced firefighting capabilities for the highly volatile situations marines might face.’

The US Marine Corps will benefit from Oshkosh Defense’s Integrated Product Support capabilities, which aim to deliver organic life-cycle sustainment support, including training, part supply and in-theatre support. The Oshkosh P-19R also features commonality with other fielded Oshkosh vehicles to reduce sustainment costs, minimise provisioning and inventory requirements, and increase training efficiencies.

Oshkosh said it will begin work on the contract this month, and expects to complete the work by May 2018.