Leonardo DRS recently delivered its 100th Joint Assault Bridge (JAB) system to the U.S. Army, providing upgraded combat bridging capability for current and future operations. JAB systems are critical combat support platforms giving freedom of maneuver to mounted and dismounted units on the battlefield. A ceremony with Army and DRS program personnel recognizing the delivery of the 100th unit was held at the Leonardo DRS facility in West Plains, Mo. where the systems are built. The JAB system provides Mobility Augmentation Companies supporting Armored Brigade Combat Teams with a survivable, deployable, and sustainable heavy-assault-bridging capability. The U.S. Army has ordered a total of 169 new JAB systems to date.
“DRS is proud to achieve this milestone and providing our customer with a robust, reliable system with advanced vision, rapid assault launch and retrieve capability, as well as superior mobility,” said Aaron Hankins, senior vice president and general manager of the Leonardo DRS Land Systems business unit. “As a trusted partner to the U.S. Army, our team of dedicated professionals has worked closely with our customer to design and build a high-quality product that will enable our warfighters to successfully accomplish critical assault bridging missions.”
JAB provides gap-crossing capability to cross wet or dry gaps, and freedom of maneuver on the battlefield to keep pace with Abrams Heavy Brigade Combat Team operations. The DRS-designed JAB is a significant upgrade to its predecessor with advanced sensors systems for the driver and commander. The system is built around an M1A1 Abrams tank hull with heavy (M1A2) suspension integrated with a hydraulic bridge launcher system to deploy the existing Military Load Class 115 Armored Vehicle Launched Bridge. Center of Gravity location improves overall system mobility, maintains chassis reliability, and in general minimizes detrimental chassis impacts of previous assault bridge launch mechanisms.
JAB is another example of the deep DRS experience as a leading integrator supporting a wide range of missions for the U.S. military and allies around the world. Leonardo DRS Embedded Diagnostics technology enables the JAB Crew and maintainers to better ensure a high state of JAB system readiness both on and off the battlefield.
Designed for Reliability, and qualified through rigorous U.S. Government testing at Aberdeen Proving Grounds, our JAB System is prepared to meet the uncompromising demands of the Combat Engineer. The company’s integration capability extends across all domains to support space missions, force protection, computer networking and C5I, as well as naval power and propulsion systems.
