Army Chief Praises BAE’s Efforts After Signing Off on Howitzer
Army Chief Praises BAE’s Efforts After Signing Off on Howitzer
(Bloomberg) -- The Army approved full-rate production for BAE Systems Plc’s $10 billion self-propelled howitzer program after “very encouraging” cooperation with the contractor to fix production problems, Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy said.
Army officials worked with BAE at its York, Pennsylvania, facility to improve production processes, McCarthy said after speaking Friday at the National Press Club in Washington. He said the company “changed leadership and moved a lot of different people in place” while “making more investments in the tooling necessary.”
“We felt good that there was a lot of energy there in their leadership,” McCarthy said.
The U.K.-based company had been assembling the weapons system since October 2013 under low-rate production contracts during which it the vehicles were turned out late and with numerous welding defects. Full-rate production is the most lucrative phase for a contractor.
In 2018, the Army increased planned quantities of the howitzer and carriers by 109 vehicles to 689.
To contact the reporter on this story: Tony Capaccio in Washington at acapaccio@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Bill Faries at wfaries@bloomberg.net, Larry Liebert, John Harney
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