WASHINGTON (AP) - Four manufacturers of bomb-resistant armored vehicles used
in Iraq and Afghanistan will update lawmakers Thursday on the status of vehicle
production and deliveries.
Lawmakers and the Pentagon want to speed the delivery of so-called
mine-resistant, ambush-protected, or MRAP, vehicles, as soldiers continue to be
killed by roadside bombs in Iraq. Suppliers say they will be capable of
delivering roughly 1,000 MRAPs per month by December, but the Pentagon wants
vehicle manufacturers to produce 1,300 per month by early 2008.
Among those scheduled to testify at 2:00 p.m. EDT before the House Armed
Service committee are Gordon McGilton, chief executive of Force Protection Inc.;
David K. Heebner, president of General Dynamics Corp.'s Land Systems; Archie
Massicotte, president of International Military and Government LLC; and Linda
Hudson, president of BAE Systems Inc.'s Land and Armament Systems.
Also scheduled to speak are John Young, the Pentagon's chief acquisition
officer, Bill Greenwalt, deputy undersecretary of defense for industrial policy
and Capt. Cloyes R. "Red" Hoover, commanding officer for Space and Naval
Warfare.
To meet its target of more than 15,000 vehicles, negotiators from the House
and the Senate on Tuesday included $11.6 billion in the fiscal 2008 defense
spending bill to provide additional funding for MRAPs and body armor. The House
and Senate are expected to vote on the bill that will finance U.S. defense
operations covering the budget year that began Oct. 1 this week.
Last month, the Pentagon awarded an additional 2,400 MRAP vehicles from
existing vendors in a deal valued at $1.2 billion. Those vehicles are expected
to be delivered between March and April 2008.
To date, the Defense Department has ordered 8,800 vehicles from
manufacturers with the help of additional funding from Congress.
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