BAE wins $18 million Marine Corps contract

BAE Systems Inc.’s facility in Louisville has won an $18 million U.S. Defense Department contract to supply systems to protect U.S. Marines from hostile fire.

BAE’s contract with the U.S. Marine Corps calls for it to produce and deliver 519 Marine Corps Gunner Protection Systems (MCGPS) for the Marine Corps’ Medium Tactical Vehicle Replacement and the High Mobility Multi-Wheel Vehicle.

The MCGPS also is known as the Marine Corps Transparent Armored Gun Shield. The gunner protection system is designed to provide protection from small-arms fire and improvised explosive device fragments.

The Medium Tactical Vehicle Replacement will receive 135 gun protection systems, and the HMMWV will receive 384, according to a news release. Delivery is expected to be complete by the end of 2011, the release said.

The kits will be assembled at the BAE Systems facility in Louisville. The company employs more than 300 workers at the plant.

“Our tested and proven gunner protection system not only protects our warfighters from harm, but it also gives them enhanced situational awareness on the battlefield,” Robert Houston, vice president of Readiness and Sustainment for BAE Systems, said in the release.

“While the U.S. Marine Corps has been the dominant user of the gun protection system capability, the U.S. Army and U.S. Navy have also used the systems in combat and experienced positive results.”

Since 2005, Arlington, Va.based BAE has sold more than 11,157 MCGPS kits, including those being produced under this contract.

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