Lockheed Martin to lead combat vehicle protection system testing

Army officials said Lockheed Martin is slated to begin supporting formal integration and testing of the branch’s combat vehicle protection system to keep soldiers safer and more secure from threats.

Lockheed Martin would provide its Modular Active Protection System (MAPS) base kit, which features an open-architecture processor integrating vehicle sensors and countermeasures as a means of detecting, tracking, and defeating rocket-propelled grenades and anti-tank guided missiles.

“Lockheed Martin partnered with the U.S. Army in 2014 to develop MAPS as a safe and secure vehicle defense system that protects warfighters from a variety of anti-armor threats,” David Rohall, program manager for Advanced Ground Vehicle Systems at Lockheed Martin, said. “Since then, the MAPS base kit has proven itself in multiple live-fire demonstrations. We’re ready to support integration and testing on a variety of Army combat vehicles, the final step before the Army makes a formal decision on fielding this capability.”

Per the three-year pact, Lockheed Martin is scheduled to deliver five production-ready base kits with an option for up to 20 while supporting Army integration and testing on Abrams, Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle, Bradley, and Stryker vehicles.

The contract also covers developing base kit support for vehicle protection capabilities beyond active protection, such as underbelly blast protection.

And the MAPS base kit supports rapid integration of MAPS-compliant sensors and countermeasures, protecting current combat vehicles and supporting future vehicle protection system capabilities.