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ONTARIO: BAE Systems received a $31.6 million order from the U.S. Army TACOM Life Cycle Management Command for 119 portable combat helicopter refueling systems. It is the 14th order in a production run that now totals 362 units, bringing the total contract value to date to $94.3 million.
The Advanced Aviation Forward Area Refueling Systems (AAFARS) are used by U.S. troops deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan, principally to fuel AH-64 Apache, UH-60 Blackhawk, and CH-47 Chinook helicopters. Over the past two years, the U.S. Army has fielded more than 200 AAFARS units in the Middle East, Europe, Korea, Central and South America, and the United States.
“AAFARS is vital to the Army's modernization plan,” said Mathew Marturano, system acquisition manager of the Army's Force Projection Program Office. “The system's portability and rapid deployment capability are continuing to provide significant value to the warfighter, and we are pleased to continue our partnership with BAE Systems to make that happen.”
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A BAE Systems employee in Ontario, Calif., assembles an AAFARS helicopter refueling system
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AAFARS is a modular, lightweight, portable combat refueling system designed for rapid refueling of forward-area military helicopters in support of deep strikes. The system has a 240-gallon-per-minute pump that can fuel four helicopters simultaneously at a rate of 55 gallons per minute each.
Deliveries under this order will begin in October 2007 and conclude in December 2008.
BAE Systems is the premier trans-Atlantic defense and aerospace company, delivering a full range of products and services for air, land, and naval forces, as well as advanced electronics, information technology solutions, and customer support services. BAE Systems, with 88,000 employees worldwide, had 2005 sales that exceeded $22 billion, excluding the group's former interest in Airbus.
