The U.S. Army awards Ricardo over $18.9 million towards the life-saving Antilock Brake System/Electronic Stability Control (ABS/ESC) retrofit kit. The United States Army has awarded Ricardo’s Defense business unit, located in Michigan, over 18.9million USD to deliver additional Antilock Brake System/Electronic Stability Control (ABS/ESC) retrofit kits to improve the safety of operation of the US Army’s High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV). In addition to those retrofit kits Ricardo has previously delivered, this contract award will improve safety on fielded vehicles in the US Army’s enduring HMMWV fleet. Additionally, more than 7,000 new production or recapitalized HMMWV vehicles have been delivered to the US Army with Ricardo’s integrated ABS/ESC technology following the Army’s mandate of the Ricardo system on all new production HMMWVs.
In 2019, the Army provisioned Ricardo’s ABS/ESC retrofit kit into the national stock system for application of vehicles produced prior to 2019 that are slated to remain in the Army’s enduring fleet through 2040.The Ricardo developed ABS/ESC retrofit system encompasses a complete solution integrated into the HMMWV architecture including antilock braking, electronic stability control, active rollover protection, traction control, and improved brake calipers, pads, and rotors. The Ricardo system additionally introduces a crashworthy steering column and a modern electronic network to the vehicle and leverages low-cost, proven components specifically designed for the arduous requirements of military application. From the beginning, Ricardo designed the system for ease of upgrade to the existing fleet to minimize HMMWV lifecycle cost to US taxpayers.
Chet Gryczan, President of Ricardo Defense said: “Ricardo is committed to providing our customers with mission critical, innovative, integrated solutions that deliver capability to the soldier. This award demonstrates that Ricardo can solve tough challenges for legacy systems that require a future-looking integrated solution. Consistent with our core values of sustainable, safe, and smart mobility, the successful deployment of Ricardo’s ABS/ESC safety critical system ensures the safety of soldiers and operators remain at the forefront of every training and operational mission. We are extremely proud to support the US Army’s objective ensuring that soldier safety remains a top priority throughout each mission.”
Ricardo Defense delivers wide-ranging engineering programmes across light and heavy land and sea operating spaces and is the partner of choice for many original equipment manufacturers. The quality of company solutions results from a unique combination of operational, technical and strategic expertise, coupled with access to world-leading engineering facilities. Ricardo Defense have been active in defence-systems engineering since the company founder’s pioneering work development of the Ricardo engine to improve range, reliability and reducing smoke emissions for the Mark V tank used by the British Army in WWI. The evolving challenges faced by armed forces placing ever-increasing demands on equipment, continued to put Ricardo at the forefront of applying innovative engineering and advanced manufacturing solutions throughout the past 100 years.
