Winnowing the field of MRAP producers

The U.S. military has reached the point where it can begin to move closer to its customary methods of equipment acquisition. The need to get as many MRAPs as possible to the theater of war in Iraq and Afghanistan resulted in an unusually high number of companies producing vehicles for the armed services. The MRAP II evaluations (apparently) helped the military narrow the field to three manufacturers.

While the Pentagon has yet to officially announce its decision, only three vendors will receive follow-on orders expected by early December 2007. According to Pentagon officials, the three vendors that already received the current orders will continue to get future business as they could sustain 1,200 vehicles per month. These vendors include International Military & Government (IMG) company and Force protection International (FPI) will both become exclusive providers for Category I (4x4) vehicles, while FPI and BAE Systems will continue to deliver the heavier Category II (mostly 6x6) vehicles. BAE Systems' Category II (RG-33) vehicles were recently selected through a mini MRAP competition as the preferred design for 400 ambulance variants which the department is now purchasing. Sofar the Pentagon accelerated orders of Category I vehicles but since these vehicles will be more difficult to receive armor upgrades, the current preference is leaning toward heavier Category II platforms.
(Defense Update)

The story's chock full of information, so stopping by Defense Update to read the whole of it is recommended.

The news is bad, of course, for Ceradyne and PVI.

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