BAE gets $299 million order for Paladin howitzers

BAE Systems has won a $299 million contract modification to continue upgrading the Army's self-propelled howitzers, according to a June 30 Pentagon announcement.

This order includes the production and delivery of 40 vehicle sets for the M109A7 Paladin Integrated Management 155 mm howitzer, a BAE spokeswoman told Inside Defense. Each howitzer is delivered in a set with one M992A3 ammunition supply vehicle.

BAE will build the vehicles through December 2024 under this contract modification, according to the Pentagon announcement. Army procurement funding from fiscal years 2020 and 2021 will fund the upgrades, which bring mobility improvements to existing howitzers.

M109 upgrades would receive $493 million under the Army’s FY-23 budget request, a cut from the $663 million Congress appropriated for FY-22. But the House and Senate Armed Services committees have proposed authorizing funding above the budget request.

Two other ground vehicle contracts were announced June 30, as the third quarter of the fiscal year drew to a close.

A $217 million contract modification for Oshkosh Defense will support fielding of the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle, according to the contract announcement. Funding will come from a variety of accounts across the Army, Army Reserve, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps, along with sales to Brazil, Lithuania and Montenegro.

This order includes 513 JLTVs and 1,152 trailers, according to an Oshkosh press release.

Oshkosh is expected to place a bid next month to continue producing the JLTV for another five to 10 years. The re-compete for the vehicle, which will partially replace the humvee in the U.S. military, was delayed earlier this year, and a winner will be announced in late December.

Bukkehave, a company based in Fort Lauderdale, FL, will sell the Army “Toyota Land Cruiser truck variants and common spare parts,” under a $92 million contract that runs through June 29, 2027, according to the announcement. According to its website, Bukkehave specializes in selling trucks and heavy commercial vehicles to governments and extractive industries in Africa, the Middle East and Latin America.