BAE Systems has been awarded a contract valued up to USD 318 million (EUR 294 million) from the US Army to perform technical and sustainment support services for its fleet of M109A6/A7 self-propelled howitzers (SPHs) and their companion M992A3 carrier, ammunition, tracked (CAT) vehicles, the company announced on 27 March 2024.
Under the five-year System Technical Support and Sustainment System Technical Support contract, BAE Systems will deliver ongoing engineering and logistics services to provide new capabilities, maintenance, and testing on the family of vehicles.
“The M109 self-propelled howitzer continues to prove itself as the ‘King of Battle’ as it provides the firepower and manoeuvrability to dominate the battlefield,” Dan Furber, director of ground vehicle production for BAE Systems’ Combat Mission Systems business, was quoted as saying in a company press release. “Sustainment services for the M109 allow the US Army to maintain a high level of operational readiness to take this powerful capability to the fight,” Furber added.
This services contract follows the M109A7 production contract awarded to BAE Systems in November 2023. The M109A7 is the latest howitzer in the M109 family of vehicles, which are the primary indirect fire support systems for the US Army’s Armored Brigade Combat Teams (ABCTs). The M109A7 uses the existing main armament and cab structure of a Paladin M109A6 and replaces the vehicle’s chassis components with modem components common to the Bradley infantry fighting vehicle. The improved chassis structure provides greater survivability and commonality with the existing systems in the ABCT, reducing operational sustainability costs by replacing obsolete components.
Services in this contract will be provided at military bases in the United States and around the world, as well as at BAE Systems facilities in York, Pennsylvania; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Sterling Heights, Michigan; Endicott, New York; Elgin, Oklahoma; and Aiken, South Carolina.
