* Decision adds 1,460 truck orders for Oshkosh
* Navistar, General Dynamics and BAE also get orders
* Pentagon added up to 4,000 vehicles to requirement
By Andrea Shalal-Esa
Defense News ~ WASHINGTON, Feb 3 (Reuters) - The Pentagon's weapons chief has approved plans to buy more than 2,800 additional armored vehicles for use in Afghanistan, including 1,460 all-terrain versions made by Oshkosh Corp (OSK.N).
Defense Undersecretary Ashton Carter signed a memorandum on Jan. 29 boosting the total number of Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles to be bought to 25,700, according to a copy of the document obtained by Reuters.
He approved specific orders of 1,460 MRAP-All Terrain Vehicles (M-ATV) made by Oshkosh; 1,050 Dash MRAP versions with independent suspensions built by Navistar International Corp (NAV.N); 250 RG-31A3 versions built by General Dynamics Corp (GD.N) and 58 RG-33 MRAPS made by BAE Systems Plc (BAES.L).
The U.S. Central Comman, which runs the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, requested the additional vehicles, Carter said in the memo. More could be needed later, he said.
"It is not known and will not be known soon, how many vehicles will ultimately be required," Carter said in the memo, which was first reported by trade publication Inside the Army.
"While these assessments are going on, it is important to begin production and initial fielding since otherwise needed vehicles will be unnecessarily delayed," he wrote.
Carter's memo followed a Jan. 4 decision by the Pentagon's Joint Requirements Oversight Council (JROC) to add up to 4,000 more trucks to its MRAP requirement, boosting that number to 26,882 vehicles.
Defense consultant Jim McAleese said the orders should provide a short-term boost for the four companies, but probably represented the tail end of the MRAP orders for Afghanistan.
"These represent the majority of the final orders to support the war in Afghanistan," McAleese said, although he noted Central Command still had the option to ask for about 1,200 more vehicles, if needed, given the JROC decision.
In addition, he said the companies would be vying for work upgrading the vehicles and supporting them in the field.
The U.S. military had a total of 4,170 MRAPs in Afghanistan, including 575 of the Oshkosh all-terrain models, as of Jan. 21, said Pentagon spokeswoman Cheryl Irwin.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates last year said U.S. plans to increase troops in Afghanistan would likely require an additional 4,000 to 5,000 all-terrain MRAPS built by Oshkosh.
The U.S. military has spent more than $12.5 billion in recent years to speed the blast-proof MRAP trucks, first to Iraq, and now to Afghanistan.
The vehicles have a v-shaped hull that helps to protect troops against roadside bombs and other threats that have been blamed for killing U.S. troops in less armored Humvees and other land vehicles.
Navy Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters on Monday the Pentagon's fiscal 2010 supplemental war budget includes more than $1 billion to complete the MRAP program and $3.4 billion in the fiscal 2011 budget to sustain it.
Defense Undersecretary Ashton Carter signed a memorandum on Jan. 29 boosting the total number of Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles to be bought to 25,700, according to a copy of the document obtained by Reuters.
He approved specific orders of 1,460 MRAP-All Terrain Vehicles (M-ATV) made by Oshkosh; 1,050 Dash MRAP versions with independent suspensions built by Navistar International Corp (NAV.N); 250 RG-31A3 versions built by General Dynamics Corp (GD.N) and 58 RG-33 MRAPS made by BAE Systems Plc (BAES.L).
The U.S. Central Comman, which runs the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, requested the additional vehicles, Carter said in the memo. More could be needed later, he said.
"It is not known and will not be known soon, how many vehicles will ultimately be required," Carter said in the memo, which was first reported by trade publication Inside the Army.
"While these assessments are going on, it is important to begin production and initial fielding since otherwise needed vehicles will be unnecessarily delayed," he wrote.
Carter's memo followed a Jan. 4 decision by the Pentagon's Joint Requirements Oversight Council (JROC) to add up to 4,000 more trucks to its MRAP requirement, boosting that number to 26,882 vehicles.
Defense consultant Jim McAleese said the orders should provide a short-term boost for the four companies, but probably represented the tail end of the MRAP orders for Afghanistan.
"These represent the majority of the final orders to support the war in Afghanistan," McAleese said, although he noted Central Command still had the option to ask for about 1,200 more vehicles, if needed, given the JROC decision.
In addition, he said the companies would be vying for work upgrading the vehicles and supporting them in the field.
The U.S. military had a total of 4,170 MRAPs in Afghanistan, including 575 of the Oshkosh all-terrain models, as of Jan. 21, said Pentagon spokeswoman Cheryl Irwin.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates last year said U.S. plans to increase troops in Afghanistan would likely require an additional 4,000 to 5,000 all-terrain MRAPS built by Oshkosh.
The U.S. military has spent more than $12.5 billion in recent years to speed the blast-proof MRAP trucks, first to Iraq, and now to Afghanistan.
The vehicles have a v-shaped hull that helps to protect troops against roadside bombs and other threats that have been blamed for killing U.S. troops in less armored Humvees and other land vehicles.
Navy Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters on Monday the Pentagon's fiscal 2010 supplemental war budget includes more than $1 billion to complete the MRAP program and $3.4 billion in the fiscal 2011 budget to sustain it.
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