BAE Systems Secures $11.6 Million for Bradley Fire Extinguishing System Upgrades

YORK, Pennsylvania – BAE Systems, under a U.S. Army contract worth $11.6 million, will provide engineering changes to the Bradley Automated Fire Extinguishing Systems (AFES) for up to 419 Bradley reset vehicles.

“The AFES includes sensors placed strategically within the vehicle that detect fire and signal the release of flame retardant,” said Andy Hove, vice president of Combat Systems programs for BAE Systems. “As a result, fire is quickly suppressed ultimately reducing the threat of injuries to soldiers.”

Design improvements to the fire suppression kits include:

• New Control Electronics Panel with Built-In Test (BIT) capability;
• Additional fire sensors in the fuel cell area and engine compartment;
• Automatic first-shot fire bottle in the engine compartment;
• BIT fire bottle valves; and
• Improved controls and instrumentation.

Work on the contract will be performed at the company’s York, Pennsylvania facility where the existing workforce will procure and install the systems. Deliveries are expected to be completed by August 2009.

The contract is managed by the Army’s TACOM Life Cycle Management Command.

Bradley Combat Systems continue to provide outstanding survivability, mobility and lethality to U.S. soldiers in close-combat urban situations as well as in open-combat. The Bradley fulfills five critical mission roles – infantry fighting vehicle, cavalry fighting vehicle, fire support vehicle, battle command vehicle and engineer squad vehicle – for the Army’s Heavy Brigade Combat Teams.