Arsenal to make armor kits for troop vehicle
$3.7 million contract to leverage skills used during Iraq war
The Watervliet Arsenal announced Tuesday the receipt of a $3.7 million U.S. Army contract to manufacture vehicle armor plate kits that will enhance soldiers’ ability to survive on the battlefield.
The contract requires the arsenal to manufacture armor plate kits for the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle system, a vehicle introduced to U.S. forces about 10 years ago to counter improvised explosive devices during the Iraq war. Production will begin in 2018 and be completed in 2020.
John Zwack, the arsenal’s project manager for this order, said the arsenal received the order because of its recent experience in manufacturing armor plate kits.
“Although this type of manufacturing is not a traditional product line for us, we have done this type of work before,” Zwack said. “During the Iraq war, we produced armor kits for 5-ton trucks and Humvee vehicles.”
Although all new work is important to the arsenal’s ability to sustain its manufacturing readiness, this order represents much more than money, said Scott Huber, a general foreman at the aresnal.
“This order will provide the arsenal more than 16,000 hours of
direct labor, as well as several thousand hours of indirect labor,” Huber said. “But, more importantly, this order provides us a strong sense of pride, knowing that the Army’s leadership has recognized that our manufacturing readiness transcends traditional cannon-making.”
The arsenal’s ability to quickly adapt to soldier readiness needs is one of the main reasons it remains in operation after more than 200 years, Huber said. As added value
to this order, Huber said he plans to use the armor kit line as a training opportunity for machine tool operators and apprentices.
“Because the tolerances are not as tight as they are for cannon and mortar production, this will be good work for machine tool operators and apprentices to refine their skills in drilling and milling,” Huber said. “Additionally, we will introduce water jet cutting into a production line for the first time.”
Although the arsenal’s main production lines deal mainly in large caliber cannon and mortar systems, the facility’s manufacturing skills have
often been leveraged by the Army to meet emerging and, sometimes, urgent readiness needs of soldiers. Between 2004 and 2010, the arsenal received $100 million from the Department of Defense to produce armor kits to safeguard troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.
This little known production line welded, fabricated and assembled tens of thousands of armor kits for U.S. troops. When the armor kit line closed in 2010, the arsenal returned nearly $20 million to the Department of Defense because production costs came in under budget.