BAE Systems To Produce M88A2 Hercules For Iraqi Army

BAE Systems has won a $31.8 million foreign military sale contract to produce eight M88A2 Heavy Equipment Recovery Combat Utility Lift Evacuation Systems (HERCULES) for the Iraqi Army. The M88A2 HERCULES was developed with improved power-assisted braking to enable the recovery vehicle to tow an M1A1 tank, increased horsepower, an improved electrical system, a modernized hydraulic system and a boom that enables the vehicle to lift an M1A1 turret. It has the lowest acquisition, operational and maintenance cost of any 70-ton capable recovery system. The M88A2 also provides unparalleled capability for recovering today’s heavy combat vehicles including the M1A1, M1A2, Leopard MBT, bridging systems and other medium to heavy weight vehicles. “BAE Systems is answering the need for a cost-effective, self-supporting, heavy recovery performance vehicle,” said Mark Signorelli, vice president and general manager of Vehicle Systems at BAE Systems. “HERCULES will provide the Iraqi military with a recovery vehicle that has been tested and proven to tow and hoist today’s heaviest combat vehicles”. In 2010, BAE Systems produced and delivered eight M88A2s for the Iraqi Army and earlier this year overhauled and delivered 440 M113A2 personnel carriers to the Iraqi Army through a foreign military sale worth more than $31 million.