The company received a $23.7 million contract from the Army’s Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command Life Cycle Management Command to equip 371 RG-31 vehicles and 174 mine-protected Joint Explosive Ordnance Disposal Rapid Response Vehicles with its L-ROD™ aluminum armor, used widely on Army Buffalo ordnance disposal vehicles.

“The L-ROD system is a low-cost and lightweight solution that protects vehicles from rocket-propelled grenade attacks,” said Dr. Jim Galambos, advanced technologies business development director for BAE Systems. “L-ROD is easily adaptable to just about any type of vehicle.”

L-ROD is a modular system made of lightweight aluminum alloy that protects vehicles without adding significant additional weight or compromising their operational capabilities. It weighs less than half of comparable steel systems and is bolted to the vehicle, avoiding the need for welding or cutting. It also can be repaired easily in the field.

BAE Systems originally developed the system as part of a fast-response Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency program to provide rocket-propelled grenade protection for High-Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles. Army officials conducted more than 50 live-fire tests to validate the system’s performance and optimize the engineering design.

L-ROD is standard equipment on the Army Buffalo explosive ordnance disposal vehicle. BAE Systems has delivered more than 500 L-ROD kits to the Army. The company has completed L-ROD designs for BAE Systems’ Caiman II and RG33-series mine-protected vehicles.

Work will be performed at BAE Systems facilities in Manassas, Virginia, and Austin, Texas.